JIMMY Floyd Hasselbaink can see the improvement in Northampton as he plots their response to his first loss in charge.

Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at Wigan ended the Dutchman’s unbeaten start since succeeding Justin Edinburgh in the Sixfields hot-seat at the end of last month.

Hasselbaink had overseen two wins in his previous three games and is confident they can bounce back and make it a hat-trick of home successes against the Bantams tomorrow.

He said: “It’s small margins – but you have to make sure those small margins go your way and that’s by being smart and having experience. It’s a learning process that we have to go through.”

The Cobblers made a terrible start to the campaign by losing their first four games, a run that saw the end of Edinburgh’s seven-month reign.

But former Burton and QPR boss Hasselbaink had an immediate effect with wins over Doncaster and Portsmouth in his first week at the helm.

They were also two up at Southend last week before being pegged back for a draw.

Former Northampton winger Michael Jacobs inflicted the 45-year-old’s first loss at the DW Stadium but Hasselbaink saw more reason for encouragement.

He said: “It was a very good display from us. (But) I think at times we can be calmer, as we panic a little bit at times.

“I don’t like losing but there is a way of losing and I am content with the way we lost. It’s always going to be a work in progress.”

Hasselbaink has been big on organisation in his approach in the first few weeks. Northampton have become a noticeably tighter team to play against.

Defender George Smith said: “He is a man for detail and that is what we needed. Jimmy has got us more organised and resolute.”

Matt Crooks, who scored against City for Scunthorpe in March, is available again after suspension.