'Hurt' Brady denies Cobblers lack motivation after tame defeat at Fleetwood

Cobblers boss Jon Brady says he would ‘never question’ his players’ motivation following their desperately disappointing performance in defeat to Fleetwood Town at the weekend.

Town were never in the contest after starting poorly at Highbury Stadium and could have been 3-0 down inside nine minutes. Promise Omochere struck just five minutes in before he went close to a quick second while Gavin Kilkenny smacked the crossbar.

Bosun Lawal added a deserved second for the hosts on the half-hour and further chances came and went before Cobblers eventually gained a foothold in the second half, but it was far too little too late.

Put to him that there was an end-of-season feel to his side’s performance, Brady replied: "I wouldn't say that. We just didn't do the basics right and we didn't win the battle. They won first and second balls and we didn't play to the conditions early on. They had a plan and it worked.

"But Fleetwood have some really good players. I know they are down near the bottom but they have turned up and made it really difficult for us. We shot ourselves in the foot but you have to give credit to them.

“It still hurts. We don't want to turn up and be so uncompetitive as we were in the first half. We know we should be a lot better than that and the boys have pride to finish the season strongly.”

Sat in the safe confines of mid-table, Cobblers responded to suggestions they were on the beach last month by winning three in four, but those accusations resurfaced following Saturday’s defeat.

"We have done different things to motivate the group and we've tried to set new goals and targets,” Brady added. “But they are professional footballers and you should always play to the best of your ability.

"We're up against a team that's fighting for their lives and you could see that in the first 20 or 30 minutes and it put us right on the back foot.

"But in terms of motivation, I would never question this team's motivation. Whenever they have been questioned, they have always responded brilliantly. It's not an issue for me, we just didn't do the fundamentals and the basics and we shot ourselves in the foot.

"But there's an expectation from us that the players will turn up and give their best week in, week out and they always do that. The opposition were excellent at what they did and how they went about it and we struggled to cope.

"But we are judged over the course of the season and the players have shown and will continue to show their best while they wear a Northampton Town shirt.”