'We're on a journey' - Northampton boss Hogg

Northampton Town manager Chris Hogg is asking fans to stick with the team as the club faces change on and off the pitch.

The Cobblers were relegated back to League Two last term, with manager Kevin Nolan sacked in March and 41-year-old Hogg replacing him in the summer.

They have made a slow start in the fourth tier, winning just one of their opening six matches to sit 17th in the early table.

"In this league, you have to be at it every single week," Hogg told BBC Radio Northampton. "If you come off it even 2% you get hurt.

"We're on a journey as a team and as a club. We're going through lots of things on the pitch and off the pitch, and it's a normal part of any journey.

"We have to learn to win, and share these experiences and reflect and grow. If you expect it to be perfect, you're in the wrong sport, because football is not."

The League Two outfit are currently on the verge of a takeover by a consortium including former AC Milan, Chelsea and Brazil forward Alexandre Pato.

In April, the Cobblers announced a pre-tax loss just short of £3m, but have still invested in a number of signings - including striker Matty Warhurst from Manchester City.

Hogg added: "The club is going through change and that is undeniable, but what we have to show both the fans and ourselves is the right characteristics and the right attitude and energies.

"It's more culturally - what do we want to be as a football club, what do we want to be as a team? We have to try to get to our levels every week.

"There are some fundamentals that will never change - the duels, the running, the fighting, that type of stuff.

"That has to be part of what we do, and it has been and the boys have been really good at it."

Hogg's appointment as Northampton boss is his first permanent head coach role after being number two to Liam Manning at Norwich, MK Dons, Oxford United and Bristol City.

He says he is relatively happy with how the project is progressing.

"I've been through change before," he added. "Progression is never a straight line. We have to buckle down, focus and be real with ourselves about where we are now.

"We all want to be in a better place in terms of points and return on games, and performance levels. But we also know this group has it - we just have to bring it out.

"The challenge for all of us is how we maximise the points return to be in a good place come the next transfer window."

Northampton welcome fellow relegated side Rotherham United to Sixfields on Saturday (15:00 BST).