Aidy Boothroyd believes Northampton's tough start to the new campaign will test the club's summer recruitment and preparation.
The Cobblers, who narrowly preserved their Football League status last term, travel to relegated Rochdale on the opening day before home games against promotion favourites Rotherham and Southend, who reached the play-offs last season.
However, boss Boothroyd has welcomed the difficult beginning, saying: "It is a tough start but we've got to play all of them home and away at some point and it will be a good gauge of the team and the squad you've got together at a very early stage.
"We play Rochdale, Rotherham and Southend and they are three teams that you would expect to see finish in the top six, so it will be a good opportunity to see how good we are and how good our preparation has been."
On the season opener at Rochdale, Boothroyd added: "I don't mind being away first. We have the home games in pre-season to get players used to playing at Sixfields and what that is all about and I honestly have no preference.
"You've got to play them all at some point and the Rochdale game will be a really good one for us, I'm really looking forward to it. (Dale boss) John Coleman knows the league very well and he'll be looking to rebuild his team after their relegation."
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