Chairman David Cardoza made it clear last week that a defeat at home to bottom club Hereford United would put 'extreme pressure' on him to part company with a manager he still felt was taking the club forward.
That faith looked to have been rewarded as the Cobblers raced into a three-goal lead against the Bulls on Saturday only for a second-half horror show at Sixfields that saw Northampton suffer the unlikeliest of defeats.
A long, long week is now on the cards until the trip to Oxford United and all eyes on the boardroom to see if Cardoza's backing for his manager can continue in the face of the Hereford reverse.