Northampton, Leaders & Experience

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Northampton, Leaders & Experience - Martin's Preview

Russell Martin is braced for a thorough examination from Northampton Town as we prepare to put the work of pre-season into practice in the Carabao Cup on Saturday.

2026-08-07T06:00+01:00

by Sam Stevens

Published

07 Aug, 2026

Northampton, Leaders & Experience - Martin's Preview

Russell Martin is braced for a thorough examination from Northampton Town as we prepare to put the work of pre-season into practice in the Carabao Cup on Saturday.

Sam Stevens

2026-08-07T06:00+01:00

Northampton, Leaders & Experience - Martin's Preview

Russell Martin is braced for a thorough examination from Northampton Town as we prepare to put the work of pre-season into practice in the Carabao Cup on Saturday.

Sam Stevens

2026-08-07T06:00+01:00

Northampton, Leaders & Experience - Martin's Preview

Russell Martin is braced for a thorough examination from Northampton Town as we prepare to put the work of pre-season into practice in the Carabao Cup on Saturday.

Sam Stevens

2026-08-07T06:00+01:00

Northampton, Leaders & Experience - Martin's Preview

Russell Martin is braced for a thorough examination from Northampton Town as we prepare to put the work of pre-season into practice in the Carabao Cup on Saturday.

Sam Stevens

2026-08-07T06:00+01:00

We welcome the Cobblers to King Power Stadium for a first-round tie against Chris Hogg’s men in our maiden competitive game of the season (3pm BST kick-off) – and Martin’s debut in charge after becoming our Manager earlier this summer.

With the Sky Bet League One curtain-raiser at Notts County still a week away, we tackle Northampton of the fourth tier first and Martin is expecting a tough test.

“[Northampton manager Chris Hogg] is someone I know and really respect,” he told reporters. “They’ve got better and better as pre-season’s gone on.

“It’ll be a tough test for us, there’s no doubt about it. It’s also a cup game so they can have a mentality that they’ve got nothing to lose really.

“They have a lot experienced heads, a lot of good professionals, who have been there and done it at the level we’re about to play in and above.

“I expect them to have a really good season in League Two. It’ll look different to the pre-season game (a 3-0 victory in Seagrave), I’m sure. As a coach, you can only ever make the best educated guess.

“You watch all the pre-season games but then we’ll see what they come with tomorrow and we have to try and prepare the lads for what we think might come but also, if they want to change some bits.

“They will not come and sit back and be passive. I’ve watched their pre-season games and they’ve been good and really well coached, really well organised. It’ll be a good game for us a tough test.”

After confirming a lengthy ACL-related injury for Ben Nelson in Friday’s press conference, Martin – who labelled the Academy graduate a ‘huge asset’ – was asked about the defensive options available to him.

He confirmed Harry Souttar, who has battled through his own injury issues, will skipper the Foxes in LE2 on Saturday, while discussing the leaders in his group in more detail, pointing to the experience added to the squad this summer.

“Harry will captain the team tomorrow,” the Manager added. “He captains his country, he’s played at the World Cup, he’s been brilliant in pre-season since he’s been back.

“I think he deserves to be, he’s a real leader. I think we’ve added some real characters to the squad and some real leadership in Wes [Burns] and Conor [Chaplin].

“Players who have been there and done it. Alex McCarthy in his own way too. He’s not a shouter but will lead by example. He captained us a couple of times at Southampton as well.

“It’s really important that this Club and the dressing room has leaders. We’ve added that to the group. It’s up to us to enable other leaders to come through.

“Ben was captain in pre-season a lot, to try and add that to his game and to his on-pitch personality. It’s really important.

“We have to enable other people and we have some brilliant young players, amazing young players.

“Bade Aluko, the way he trains and interacts every day is really outstanding. JJ (Jayden Joseph) the same. Sammy [Braybrooke] and Louis [Page] are a bit more quiet but train so hard every single day.

“I’m really excited about seeing that develop. We have a group [of players] that will represent everyone in the squad and we’ll be talking to them very regularly.”

This cup outing comes just days after the arrival of forward Burns from Ipswich Town, on a three-year deal, and Martin is delighted to add both quality and professionalism to his ranks.

“Experience of promotion at this level, lots of games at this level, character, real professionalism,” he added, when asked about Burns' qualities. “Before anything that he brings on the pitch, he’ll bring all of that – and then he’ll bring real quality and add a different dimension for us.

“He’s brilliant in and out of possession. It’s a real coup for us. The same as Conor. They both could have been in the Championship, but they’ve come here because of the excitement of what we can achieve and also the way that we’re going to play.

“I think they think it’s suits them and they want to be a part of that. The same for Alex McCarthy, the same for Christian [McFarlane], he could have been on loan in the Championship, Tommy [Watson] as well.

“It’s a testament to them that they want to be a part of this. They’re excited and they want to be at Leicester. We can’t take that for granted.

“These guys have put us above options at a higher level. For me, that’s a really important and really big thing for us. Wes will certainly add some quality, character and experience.”

Adding older heads with knowhow has been a pleasing aspect of the summer so far, complimenting a youthful cohort of players from the Academy.

“It’s hugely important,” the former Southampton manager continued. “We’re going to need balance because, on the whole, the squad is really young, really exciting.

“With that, you have to have some people who have been there and done it and who they can turn to in the tough moments on the pitch.

“If they look around, there’s some guys who have lived some tough moments and can help the young ones get through it.

“It’s one thing I learned really early on at MK Dons, when I brought in a couple of people who I played with – Cameron Jerome, Andrew Surman, Richard Keogh, and how much they helped the young players.

“Pete Winkelman, the [MK Dons] chairman at the time, kept accusing me of just signing my mates, but by the end of the season he asked me if I had any more mates to sign!

“He saw the value of what they brought to the young players. We need balance. The squad is young and it’s exciting, but these guys will give us some consistency and a bit of knowhow in the big moments in games.”

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