Northampton manager Stuart Gray believes his policy of gambling on players with injury problems will really pay off this season.

Striker Adebayo Akinfenwa was one of several players to arrive at Sixfields last season after a lengthy lay-off and Gray believes that with a successful pre-season behind them his young squad can compete at the top of League One.

He said: "Players like Bayo, Giles Coke and Gabor Gyepes will really benefit from this pre-season.

"They all did really well for us last season, and that was especially creditable given that they had no pre-season under their belts.

"We have a very young and fit squad and you need that when you are playing three games a week.

"The spine of the squad from last season is still here and it is just a case of adding the right players here and there."