Holmes happy to wait for Cobblers start

Cobblers winger Ricky Holmes is likely to be on the bench for Saturday's Sky Bet League Two clash against Portsmouth

Plagued by back and groin injuries this season, Holmes made just his fourth appearance of the campaign when he came off the bench against Northwich Victoria in last weekend’s FA Cup tie to inspire the Cobblers to a dramatic comeback.

He then topped that against Luton at Kenilworth Road on Saturday when scoring a stunning 25-yard winner having been on the pitch barely 30 seconds.

But despite those performances, Holmes is content to let his team-mates continue to shine while he builds up his match fitness ahead of this weekend’s game against his former club Portsmouth.

“We’ve lost one game in about 15 so the boys have been flying and I don’t think you can change it at the minute,” said the 28-year-old.

“Obviously I’ll be itching to get on and play some part of the game but it’s up to the gaffer to see who he chooses.

“I’m coming back and I’m probably not fit enough just yet so we’ll see what his decision is.

“We just want to keep this run going. It’ll be another tough game this weekend but we’ve given ourselves a chance by winning at Luton because we’ve now got a really tough Christmas period with the teams we have coming up.”

Holmes is understandably frustrated not to have started a game yet this season, but while he wants to be more than an impact player he’s thrilled with how the Cobblers have performed without him.

He added: “I wouldn’t say I’m just an impact player. If the boss wants to pick me then I’ll play obviously but like I say, the boys have been magnificent.

“Some of the football they played in the first half on Saturday, we cut them open easily because of the movement of the four players up top and with Alfie (Potter) getting three assists, they just keep coming.

“If it’s not Nicky (Adams) or if it’s not Lawson (D’Ath), Alfie’s been doing the magic.

“We’ve got to tighten up a bit because at the moment we’re like the Galácticos and it’s a case of seeing who can score more!

“But it’s great to watch, it’s great to play in and it’s three points at the end of the day no matter what the result is.”