Northampton Town: Mansfield Town and Leyton Orient amongst clubs to consider amid 2024/25 ambitions: View | OneFootball

Jon Brady must target finishing above these clubs.

Pre-season is well under way and with Northampton Town's season opener under two weeks away, fans and pundits have begun giving their verdict on who will finish where next season.

Jon Brady's Cobblers will be aiming to match or better their performance from last season, which would award them with a third season in League One and potentially their highest league finish since 2007/08.

The Cobblers will again and be looking to secure safety as early as possible next season, a feat which shouldn't be ignored given the strength and spending in the division next season.

However, Northampton won't be alone in their ambitions with competitors gearing up for the new season with similar targets. This season there will be more clubs than ever battling for security in the division, so which clubs will Brady and his staff be considering as benchmarks?

Mansfield Town will be looking to match Northampton's position

One side expected to be in and around Northampton next season will be Mansfield Town, who finally gained automatic promotion from League Two last season.

Nigel Clough's side achieved an impressive points tally of 86 points to finish six ahead of fourth placed MK Dons, behind Champions Stockport by the same margin, with a goal difference of +43, scoring 90 and conceding 47.

While fellow promoted sides Stockport County and Wrexham AFC have dwarfed the Stags' ambition so far, Clough has still made some tidy additions to his side in the form of Australian international midfielder Keanu Baccus from St. Mirren and proven scorer Lee Gregory from Sheffield Wednesday.

The Stags have also completed the acquisition of Frazer Blake-Tracey from Swindon, who will solidify the rearguard and make this Mansfield team hard to beat - a tag often given to Clough's sides.

Mansfield will be looking to replicate the success of Stevenage, Leyton Orient and Northampton upon their promotion last season. While they may lose ground to their fellow promoted sides, it would be surprising not to see them land safely in League One.

If Northampton want to secure safety early in the season and maybe even have a crack at the play-offs, they must finish ahead of Stags as a minimum next season.

Another side expected to be contesting in a similar area in the table to Northampton next term is Richie Wellens' Leyton Orient, who finished last campaign five points ahead of Cobblers in 11th, after winning promotion alongside them in 2022/23.

While Orient finished three places above Northampton last season, there was little to separate the two over the season, playing out a draw and an entertaining 4-3 triumph for the O's, the pair look closely matched once more.

Northampton and Orient have experienced similar fortunes in the market this summer with both clubs losing star midfielders in Marc Leonard and Idris El-Mizouni respectively, while they have had a mini-reset up top with Ruel Sotiriou, who scored some crucial goals for the O's, leaving for Bristol Rovers, Danny Hylton, Louis Appere and Tyreece Simpson all left the Cobblers.

Orient will be hoping that Oli O'Neill, signed from Fulham last January, will be able to carry his prolific form into next season, while O's boss Wellens will be looking to reignite the form of new signing Diallang Jaiyesimi, who previously worked under him at Swindon.

If Orient continue their form from last season into this one, Northampton should be aiming to match them to show their progression and secure their safety early and maybe have an outside shout of the play-offs.

Northampton are well-placed for progression next season

Despite other clubs flexing their muscles in the market, Cobblers have one up on many if their performances last season are anything to go by.

Northampton beat promotion chasing Derby County at the back-end of last season, proving they are more than capable of defending Sixfields from clubs fighting at the top, while clubs such as Wrexham and Stockport have the power to make big signings and splash the cash, how they'll cope with the demands of League One football is a yet to be proven.

Cobblers will enter the season with confidence of retaining their midtable status having finished above existing clubs; Bristol Rovers, Charlton, Reading, Cambridge, Shrewsbury and Burton and the additions of experienced players such as Jack Baldwin will only increase their chances of pushing on for a highest league finish in over two decades.