Newly-appointed Northampton boss Ian Sampson believes confidence is returning to the squad after Town extended their unbeaten run to five matches with victory against Lincoln.

Steve Guinan grabbed the only goal of the game in the 72nd minute in a dour encounter at Sixfields.

"I thought we thoroughly deserved to win and it was pleasing to keep a clean sheet and we've struggled to get one lately," said Sampson.

"Lincoln didn't make it easy for us, they are a big side and we found it difficult against their formation. But we kept trying to pass the ball, we got better in the second half and we got our reward in the end. We stuck to our task late on with Lincoln's late pressure and that's five matches unbeaten and the confidence is starting to come back.

"It's early days but I'm trying to embed new things into the players although it's taking time. We've got two tough away games coming up and teams will make it difficult for us but we've got to push on and try and get some decent results."