Northampton Town manager Kevin Nolan has revealed he has a headache ahead of Saturday’s visit of Bolton Wanderers after his side comfortably dispatched Chelsea under-21s in the EFL Trophy last night.
The Cobblers saw their three-match winning streak come to end last weekend when they lost 2-0 to struggling Wycombe Wanderers. The result followed impressive victories over Exeter City, Leyton Orient and Blackpool, which came after a winless opening four games of the campaign.
Nolan was given the opportunity to offer some of his fringe players a starting berth last night as they welcomed Chelsea’s youngsters to Sixfields. It was a one-sided encounter which saw Northampton enter the half time break three goals to the good. The game eventually finished 3-0.
Nolan Handed Bolton Predicament
Having lost last weekend, Nolan now has to decide whether to stick or twist as he welcomes a Bolton side to NN5 that haven’t lost since the opening day. Speaking after last night’s comfortable victory, he admitted that a handful of performances have given him a selection headache:
“It was nice to be able to make so many changes from the weekend and still have a strong squad to pick from but eight of them are 24 or under so there are a lot of young lads involved. This is the first taste of professional football for some of them – the likes of Joe Wormleighton and Jack Perkins – and they are trying to establish themselves, the same goes for Max Dyche, so these are important experiences. We also got Kam and Crackers through good minutes, Valey as well, and that was all really pleasing.”
“There might be a few headaches for the weekend and that’s what you want but we need to assess the lads from Tuesday and make sure they are all fine. A lot of them got through 90 minutes and to go again on Saturday could be difficult.
“But we’ll assess them all over the next 24-48 hours and they’ll hopefully be ready and rating to go in training on Thursday. I might have some tough decisions to make for Saturday but that’s a nice thing for a manager.”
Writer’s View
Northampton struggled at the beginning of the season, mainly due to the number of new arrivals. They have a squad that have gelled exceptionally quick and have become a team which is really tough to beat. Last night’s win shows the strength in depth they possess, and Kevin Nolan will be confident that he can pick a team capable of getting at least a point against one of the strongest sides in the division on Saturday.
