O’Toole: Cobblers players will ‘grin and bear it’ after not being paid

As expected, it was confirmed by the club that players and staff have not been paid today, with the club’s bank accounts frozen due to the winding up order petition that has been put in place by HMRC.

Wages were due to be paid on Friday, but haven’t been, but the full squad has still travelled to south Wales today ahead of Saturday’s Sky Bet League Two clash at Newport County on Saturday.

It is a far from ideal situation for all concerned, but O’Toole says the players are going to just concentrate on doing their jobs to the best of their ability.

“It’s not ideal, it’s not good, but you just have to try and sort it out the best you can and get whatever is needed put in place so you’re not out on your backside,” said O’Toole when asked about not being paid on time.

“You have to just grin and bear it, and hopefully it is resolved sooner rather than later.

“We just have to carry on doing well in games, and keep that as the main focus as opposed to the fact we’re not getting paid or whatever.”

The off-field problems that have dogged the club since the summer have intensified in the past fortnight, with the club failing to meet a deadline to repay a £10.25m loan to the Borough Council, and also being chased by the taxman over an unpaid bill that now totals £166,000.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, with former Oxford United chairman Kelvin Thomas very keen to buy the club, and he is in discussions with the council over a way forward.

But there is still plenty of uncertainty, and O’Toole says the players just have to ‘deal with it’.

“As players there isn’t a lot we can do, we just have to get on with our work, day, day out, and concentrate on getting results on the pitch,” said the former Bristol Rovers midfielder.

“We’ll leave everything else to the guys in the office and wherever else to sort that out.

“It would make things easier if things were sorted, but we’ve just got to deal with it and get on with it.

“As a collective we have been really strong all season, and I am sure that will benefit us through this hard little spell.

“We will stick together and keep the main focus on winning our next match, and hopefully it will be fine.”