Cobblers boss Boothroyd upbeat ahead of Gillingham trip

Town’s scheduled game at Kingsmeadow was called off due to a waterlogged pitch, with the referee calling the game off after pitch inspection a full six hours before the kick-off.

It was a blow to Northampton, who were heading to south-west London in confident mood after a 2-0 win over Aldershot that had elevated them to just outside of the npower League Two play-offs.

The club were confident that victory would be compounded with a positive result against a Dons side who have been struggling at the wrong end of the table for the majority of the current season.

Being deprived of the game meant the Cobblers were denied the chance to increase their momentum through the festive period, the next assignment of which is a trip to league two leaders Gillingham on Saturday (December 29).

That fixture will represent a stern examination of the progress the team has made recently to recover from a run of three straight defeats and re-establish themselves in the upper reaches of the table, although Gillingham are currently on a run of just one win in six, and were beaten 1-0 at home by Barnet on Boxing Day.

And Boothroyd is pleased his squad will not lose a day to recovery from the Boxing Day clash, and gain an extra one on the training ground to plan and prepare for what will be a difficult game at Priestfield.

“The pitch wasn’t deemed fit to play and that’s how it is sometimes, we were disappointed,” said Boothroyd, whose squad had stayed overnight in London on Christmas night.

“We had a bit of momentum going into the game and this was a game we were confident we could take another three points from and push on a bit further.

“That’s how it is sometimes, you have to adapt, improvise and overcome so we went home on Boxing Day and then due in training on Thursday.

“It gives us an extra day to prepare for the Gillingham game and that’s how we’ve got to look at it.

“That’s a huge game for us, it’s against the league leaders and it will be a good gauge for us to see how far we’ve come.”