Working to a League Two budget means managers need to take gambles now and again on those players whose careers have stalled for whatever reason.
While seasoned professionals such as summer signings David Artell and Clive Platt can be relied upon to put in a 46-game shift Boothroyd will be looking for the X Factor in his side to come from the likes of Ishmel Demontagnac and Louis Moult.
His descriptions of both players upon signing for the Cobblers were very similar.
On Demontagnac, the winger handed a deal after leaving Notts County: "Ishmel is a very talented young player that has lost his way a little bit. He needs a platform to show what he is all about and I think we can give him that."
On Moult, offered a contract last week after his exit from Stoke City: "He was a bit of a child star who has lost his way a little bit which can happen at big clubs."
If the manager can coax consistent form out of one or both players it will come as a bonus on top of the solid signings that he has made elsewhere and those that have survived Boothroyd's culling of the squad he inherited last season.