Northampton Town fans thought their season was over when the EFL decided the rest of the campaign would be decided based on a points-per-game method. However, they were given a lifeline in achieving their promotion goal when it was announced that the Football League still intends to play the playoffs when it was safe to do so. Speaking to The Northampton Chronicle, midfield maestro Nicky Adams has been discussing the fantastic opportunity that has been presented to them.
Northampton Town currently occupy the final playoff place, marginally ahead of Port Vale when the ppg was calculated. As is traditional with the playoffs, fourth place plays seventh place, meaning Cheltenham Town will be The Cobblers opponents. Northampton Town now has a fantastic opportunity to get promoted back to League One, especially as any sort of form has gone out of the window. Talking about the announcement the playoffs would take place, Adams had this to say.
“It’s a massive boost,” said Adams. “I didn’t even know what was happening. I was out for a walk with my family and the next thing I knew my phone was going mad.”
Like most players across the EFL, players have been training on their own and Adams can’t wait to return with the rest of the squad. He can also understand why some players have struggled to motivate themselves during this difficult time.
“If you’re in the middle of the table or bottom half, I can understand that it could be difficult to stay motivated but we knew there was a chance that we could get an opportunity to go up.”
“Now we’ll step it up on our own and I’ve already been out to do some more intense stuff because we’ll only have a couple of weeks then we’ll be straight into it.”
The playoffs are usually held immediately after the regular season, however, this time around teams will have had a three-month break.
“It’ll be strange but everyone is in the same boat…We respect all the teams in there because they’re all good sides.”
Although form does go out the window, Northampton have not had the best of times against Cheltenham in recent years. They have lost three of their last four outings and will be hoping to put the record straight in the playoffs.
