Northampton boss Kevin Nolan plans to “enjoy the moment” after his team guaranteed League One safety with a 4-1 victory over bottom side Shrewsbury on Easter Monday.
Dara Costelloe’s brace plus a goal apiece for Aaron McGowan and Cameron McGeehan eased the Cobblers to all three points which, coupled with defeat for Bristol Rovers, officially confirmed their place in League One for another season.
Nolan said: “We’re going to have a couple of days off and I’m going to spend a bit of time with my family because I want people to enjoy the moment.
“I’m happy with the performance and the goals. I felt we could have put them under more pressure in the second half than what we did because we allowed them to play their way and get into the game.
“The third goal kills them off and we get the fourth but it was disappointing to lose one right at the end because I wanted a clean sheet, but that’s just me.
“I’ve said to the lads we need to have that ruthless edge, but I thought it was a good performance. Shrewsbury have drawn at Lincoln and Wycombe in their last two away games so it was never going to be a gimme.
“I know they went down the other day but that can take away the tension and give you freedom, but I thought we handled it well. There were moments where we needed a bit of luck and someone needed to put in a block.
“But I thought we were well worth the win and I’m delighted with the win and I’m delighted for the players because they’ve put in a lot of hard work.”
John Marquis scored a stoppage-time consolation at Sixfields but it was another miserable day for the already-relegated Shrews.
Manager Michael Appleton said: “It was a tough day. There were some really, really poor errors at the wrong times.
“We expected a lot of balls into the box, it was a long throw literally every time the ball went out when they were 30 or 40 yards from goal so it was a bit of a throwback, but I thought we dealt with that pretty well for most of the time.
“I didn’t feel we were under pressure or stressed in any way, shape or form but we didn’t do our jobs properly for the first goal and I don’t have to say too much on the second one.
“Then, in the second half, when we were on top of the game and they were getting frustrated, we gave another comical goal away, which just makes it very difficult.
“I’m trying not to be too angry and I have to be careful what I say because there’s still two games to play. We have to find a way to be well-organised for our trip to Barnsley.”
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