Dempster has made 162 appearances for the Poppies since January 2007

Kettering Town defender John Dempster says manager Lee Harper has been justifiably frustrated by their pre-season matches.

Harper slammed the "unacceptable" performance in the 3-1 loss to Hinckley last Saturday.

Dempster told BBC Radio Northampton: "There's no excuses, we've not been up to scratch.

"Lee spoke to us about how cutthroat football is, and we're aware of that. We know we have to buck up our ideas."

The Poppies have conceded 17 goals in their seven pre-season friendlies, which included MK Dons and Charlton Athletic.

"The disappointing thing is that we've been conceding goals, because we've traditionally been solid," said Dempster.

"We're just looking forward to starting the season. The attitude and commitment changes when there's three points on the line.

"A lot of teams can have a cracking pre-season, only to be lackadaisical and lose when it comes to the first game."

Kettering play Gateshead in the Blue Square Bet Premier on Saturday.

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