Boothroyd buoyed by stalemate

Manager Aidy Boothroyd was happy to take the positives from Northampton's opening day goalless draw at Rochdale.

A Cobblers side feature six league debutants managed to keep Dale at bay despite being on the back foot for long periods. "This was a good point as Rochdale are a good side and we are a work in progress," said Boothroyd. "I told the players afterwards that I could write three books on what we need to improve on, but one thing you do need if you are going to be successful is the ability to defend and dig out a point or three. "I don't want to be part of a team that concedes too many goals and every day has got to be a good defending day. So, while we could be better with the ball and our decision making could have been better, we took a point from a place where not many teams will emerge with anything. "We went close with a couple of set-pieces and limited Rochdale to long-range shots. They had more possession and played some nice stuff, as you'd expect from the home team, but I felt we were strong enough to keep them at bay and could have nicked one at the other end. "The fact that the players came off disappointed shows the mentality and what we expect to do this season. It is going to take time and we are going to get better as we go along, but overall I'd have taken a point before the game so I cannot complain."