Taylor insists there has been no complacency at Sixfields and Cobblers are '˜up for the fight'

A raft of new signings in the transfer window and an excellent run of form in January and early February saw Town pull away from the bottom four, with four wins and a draw in six matches.

But since the 3-1 win at AFC Wimbledon it has been something of a tale of woe for Town, who have failed to win any of their past seven games, claiming just four points out of a possible 21.

That poor run has seen the Cobblers drop back into the bottom four, and with all of their rivals having at least one game in hand the pressure is now really on Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s men to get the four wins they need from their remaining seven fixtures.

Asked if complacency may have set in following that early-year upturn in form, Taylor says that wasn’t the case.

“I wouldn’t say there has been complacency,” said the big central defender. “It is about consistency and that is the main issue.

“We have put on some solid performances and, yes, some boys might think ‘yeah, we are getting there’.

“But I still believe the boys are there for the fight, they want to push on, do great for this club, and they want to take it forward. At the minute it is just the consistency that is the problem.”

Taylor knows only too well that the Cobblers are in deep trouble, but he remains confident the team can save their own skins, with matches against the likes of Bury, Walsall and Oldgham Athletic to come.

“It is still in our hands,” said the former Aberdeen man. “Some of the teams have games in hand on us, but we still have to play some of the teams around us.

“We have two big games coming up over Easter, and hopefully we can take some points out of them.

“But at this moment in time, it is going to be beating the teams around you that will be more important, rather than teams that are pushing for the play-offs or fighting to get promoted.

“We need to do our job against the teams around us, and Fleetwood was disappointing, but we need to focus and get the job done.”

The Cobblers return to action on Good Friday when they take on Charlton Athletic at Sixfields (ko 3pm), before making the short trip across the county border to Peterborough United for the big derby on Easter Monday.

They are two teams battling to win a spot in the promotion play-offs and on paper getting anything from the fixtures looks a difficult proposition, but Taylor says they can spring a surprise.

“Everybody will be looking at us now and saying ‘they are not going to pick up anything out of those games’,” said the Town skipper.

“As a squad, and as players, we know we can go and get three points.

“We have proven that against some top teams this season, and we are going into the games to get maximum points out of both of them. And first and foremost, it is Charlton on Friday.”