'Brutal' army training camp has brought new-look Cobblers 'closer together'

A 'brutal' two-day army training camp in Rutland has helped bring Cobblers' new-look squad 'closer together', according to manager Jon Brady and left-back Joseph Mills

Town's players and coaching staff headed to the camp late last Tuesday evening and returned home on Thursday before playing Saturday's friendly at Cambridge United.

Asked if it was a brutal couple of days, Mills replied: "In a word, yes! The first morning we got there, I think it was about 10 to six when we got the call and let's just say it wasn't the most polite way of being woken up!

"There were a couple of gentlemen getting us up in a different manner, but it was really good. We did some team building work and some hard work as well and fortunately everyone came through it fine.

"It was tough but there was enough energy to put in a good shift and a good performance on Saturday."

Part of the reason for taking part in the army camp was to forge stronger bonds between the players with 11 new signings added to the squad this summer.

"Yes, of course," Mills added. "We will face some tough situations throughout the season and it won't all be smooth-sailing, we know that, so it's about building resilience and building mental toughness.

"The army camp gave us a little insight into that and we'll need more of it going into the new season."

Brady added: "We had a good week with the army last week. It was really, really good and I felt it brought the group a lot closer together and hopefully that bodes well for the future.

"We want to connect on the pitch and now we're feel we're connecting better off the pitch."