Thomas proud of 'stable' Cobblers after 10 years

Kelvin Thomas took over Northampton Town in November 2015

The chairman of Northampton Town said one of his proudest achievements after taking over 10 years ago was having a "stable football club".

Kelvin Thomas took over in 2015 when the Cobblers were in financial difficulty, and he has seen the club promoted out of League Two three times and the completion of the long-awaited East Stand.

He said the club, currently in League One, was often tipped for relegation, but "especially the last three seasons we've proved that wrong and hopefully we can prove that wrong again".

However, he admitted the club had lost £2.5m in the last financial year, adding that was "just to stand still".

Last year, businessman Nigel Le Quesne bought a 25% stake, which Mr Thomas said was part of an effort "to ensure we can compete in League One".

He also told BBC Radio Northampton's Cobblers Show the club would "consider future investment" if the opportunity arose.

'The club was such a mess'

Thomas said: "We've got one of the smaller budgets in the league. We're punching above our weight.

"[Manager Kevin Nolan] is doing fantastically well in terms of our financial position."

Manager Kevin Nolan was praised by the chairman for the work at the League One club

Reflecting on the last 10 years, he said was proud to have spent six of those in League One, saying: "You can never take away the success of promotions."

He also highlighted the club's Community Trust, which runs football teams for those with Special Education Needs and Disabilities, as well its education and schools programmes.

Thomas said: "When we walked in, the community department was a mess, probably because the club was such a mess in terms of the finances.

"The Community Trust was just forgotten about and was in debt, was hardly connected to the football club.

"Given the awards that we've received and what we've done over the past 10 years as a club and as a trust, I would say we're one of the best trusts in the country.

"So that's probably the proudest [achievement].

"And just the fact that we are a well-respected, stable football club in Northampton and in the EFL and the football ecosystem."