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Posted Feb 13th 2007, 9:01am
by Stu Firden
Will Northampton stay up?
Cobblers!
"FORMER Cobblers boss Colin Calderwood has backed Stuart Gray's side to beat the drop in Coca-Cola League One this season.
Calderwood's Nottingham Forest condemned Town to their fourth consecutive league defeat on Saturday with a 1-0 win at the City Ground, a defeat that leaves the Cobblers perilously close to the relegation zone, just a point clear of the drop zone.
But the former Sixfields chief, who took Town to promotion from league two last season, is sure that the current side have enough talent to stay up this term.
"The performance on Saturday will give them a lot of hope," said Calderwood.
"But it's easy to go to a stadium like the City Ground and raise their game and be competitive, especially when we can't get the opening goal.
"It's all ahead of them. We struggled long and hard to get into this division and I fully expect them to be in this division at the start of next season, because there is enough about them."
The Cobblers travelled to Nottingham with nine first-teamers missing for the game with promotion-chasing Forest, including regulars Sean Dyche, Chris Doig and Joe Burnell.
The resolve of a young Cobblers side impressed Calderwood, and he is sure that if they can start netting wins at home, they will start next season in the same division.
"I think the young centre halves coped really, really well, added the Scot.
"And big Deuchar up front looks a handful and Andy Kirk will go on a goal-scoring spree at some point.
"I think if teams win their home games at the top then they will win promotion and I think if teams at the bottom grind out victories at home, then they will stay up.
"If you win your home games, then you don't have to chase victories away and anything you can pick up is a bonus.
"I know what it's like at Sixfields, I wouldn't really want to be going there so I'm going to look at the opposition they've got, and hopefully one or two in the top six will be going there.
"That will be a difficult place with the ground full and the crowd behind them and them striving to stay in the division. They will, I'll guarantee you they will."
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