Chris Hogg says discussions over recruitment are ongoing ‘all the time’ as the club looks to establish a ‘new way of working’ following Alex Latimer’s recent departure.

Northampton are on the lookout for a new head of recruitment after Latimer was let go last week. That decision was taken by new owners Sports Alpha Capital following an in-depth review of the club.

Hogg said: “Alex obviously left and I want to thank him on the record for his time at the club. He was here before me and built some good relationships and I wish him all the best for the future.

“For us, it’s about building that process and we are having constant conversations behind the scenes in terms of how that process will look and how it’ll be a new way of working. That’s something we’re working towards for January.”

Following last week’s FA Cup tie at York City, Hogg spoke about the need to reach a stage of the season where Cobblers can get some ‘help’. Speaking after the 4-0 defeat, he said: "We know it's going to be a grind of a season and it's not going to be a straight line but we have to improve and improve quickly and it's my job to do that and to get to a stage of the season where we can get some help and we keep progressing in the right way.”

Asked to expand on that, Hogg explained: “We’ve been looking at January since the end of the last window. The work never stops and we’re looking at things as a club in terms of how we can approach things. January isn’t a magic window where you can get a whole new squad of players.

“We don’t need that, we just need some tweaks here and there, and we’ll be interested in what the market looks like that’s for sure.”

Hogg hopes his side can get back to their defensive best when they go to table-topping Salford tomorrow. Only one team in League Two have let in fewer goals than Cobblers so far this season - but they conceded four in the FA Cup at York last weekend.

"We have been a team that's hard to beat - we have the second best defensive record in the league,” said Hogg. “Only one team has conceded less goals. We've been organised and structured and it's the attacking end that we've focused on improving.

“I'm still an optimist and I understand where we need to go as a club. It's not going to be an easy job, I knew that taking it on, and I have to take the rough with the smooth. There's no beating around the bush - we have to win more games.”