AIDY BOOTHROYD believes the Cobblers’ first three games of the new season will provide the perfect examination for the club’s close-season recruitment and preparation.
The fixture list for the 2012/13 npower League Two campaign has handed Town a trip to Rochdale on the opening day, followed by home games against Rotherham and Southend.
Dale were relegated from league one last season, the Millers have splashed the cash this summer – signing strikers Kayode Odejayi and Danny Nardiello – and Southend were beaten in the play-off semi-finals by eventual winners Crewe last month.
All of which represents a difficult introduction to the new term but Boothroyd is relishing the challenge.
“It is a difficult start but we’ve got to play all of them home and away at some point and it will be a good gauge of the team and the squad you’ve got together at a very early stage,” he said.
“We play Rochdale, Rotherham and Southend and they are three teams that you would expect to see finish in the top six, so it will be a good opportunity to see how good we are and how good our preparation has been.
“I don’t mind being away first. We have the home games in pre-season to get players used to playing at Sixfields and what that is all about and I honestly have no preference.
“You’ve got to play them all at some point and the Rochdale game will be a really good one for us, I’m really looking forward to it.
“John Coleman knows the league very well and he’ll be looking to rebuild his team after their relegation.”
Before the league action begins, on August 18, Town play host to Cardiff City in the Capital One Cup four days earlier, reuniting Boothroyd with a man he knows very well in Bluebirds boss Malky Mackay.
“I signed him (Mackay) at Watford, he was my first-team coach there and he did very well as manager at Watford,” said the Cobblers boss.
“He did great at Cardiff, he’s rebuilt the team and he’s taken them to a major cup final so he knows his way around a football club.
“That will be a tough game for us but it is one we can really look forward to because they are a top championship club and we will want to put on a good display for our supporters.”