Cobblers duo look to build on win

Akinfenwa hit 13 league goals for Northampton last season

Northampton Town strikers Abebayo Akinfenwa and Steve Guinan say the pressure on the club has been relieved by Tuesday's 3-0 victory at Accrington.

The pair's first-half strikes were the Cobblers' first of the new season.

Akinfenwa told BBC Radio Northampton: "It seemed like there was tension around the place but [Stuart Gray] is a top manager.

"I'm glad the pressure is off him and off us. We knew we would get a result and hopefully we can build on this."

He added: "If we can show the same performance against Bournemouth as we did in the first half against Accrington, we can go into the game confident. If we do the simple things right, we can give a good account of ourselves."

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Akinfenwa limped off with a hamstring strain in the match against Accrington.

"I felt a little pull towards the end of the first half so the gaffer decided to take me off. I'm in contention for Bournemouth but we'll wait and see."

The 33-year-old Guinan, who scored Northampton's first goal in 493 minutes of football, said: "It didn't matter who scored, but from personal point of view, I was delighted. It was definitely in my top three best ever goals.

"We knew the manager was under pressure - football is a results business. But we see what he does in training. He wants promotion like us and hopefully we gave him a performance to be proud of."

Striker Billy McKay also scored on Tuesday night, and with Gary Mulligan due to return from injury, there will be competition for places in the Cobblers front line against Bournemouth.

"Adebayo likes to be last man, and I like to play off people, so if that's a combination that works, then that'd be fantastic. But I'm sure through the season there will be different partnerships, and we've got to get behind each other," Guinan added.