Jon Brady: Northampton Town boss hails club 'family' after promotion

Northampton's coaching staff James Algar, Marc Richards, Jon Brady and Colin Calderwood (left to right) celebrate promotion

Northampton Town boss Jon Brady says adversity on the pitch and tragedy off it has made the club "like a family" as they sealed promotion from League Two.

The Cobblers went up to League One with a 1-0 win at Tranmere on Monday, to banish the memory of missing out last season.

Town were denied automatic promotion on goal difference last term, with Bristol Rovers winning 7-0 on the final day.

"It's been a lot of pain to get here," an emotional Brady said post-match.

The 48-year-old Australian came through the youth coaching ranks at Sixfields after six years at non-league Brackley, eventually taking over the first team after the departure of Keith Curle in February 2021.

After clinching third place in League Two at Prenton Park, a tearful Brady told Sky Sports: "Last year hurt… we can actually enjoy the moment."

"I want to say thank you to my staff, we're all together… Colin Calderwood, Marc Richards - James Alger, my goalkeeping coach, woke up one morning and his wife didn't wake up.

"We lost his wife [in August 2022], Colin's lost his dad - for those people who have been with us in spirit this is absolutely amazing.

"It gives you incredible perspective really… we're like a family, we look after each other and that's how it's been.

"I'm going to see my family, my wife and my three children - sometimes in football management you push them aside because you work insatiably to achieve something, but they have been so supportive, even though I've had to take some of the not greatest moves at times at home."

Cobblers put lingering doubts to one side

Brady said the club had overcome other obstacles too, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: "It's a relief, especially with what we've gone through with all the injuries.

"Since Christmas we've had 10 players out every game, players that we've managed to get in that would take a minimum wage, they've been discarded by other League Two clubs, have come in and helped brilliantly."

Brady said the club were still scarred by the events of last May, when they missed out on automatic promotion by a single goal after winning 3-1 win at Barrow on the final day of the regular season, then lost in the play-offs.

He said: "After last season, it's trying to let this sink in somehow that we've got over the line.

"The first season I took over, we had 20 games to go and we missed on staying in League One by three points. That was hard to take.

"Last season we got all the way to the end, but Scunthorpe fielded an under-18 side and Bristol Rovers got one more than us. It deeply hurt and left a scar."

Injured captain Jon Guthrie told BBC Radio Northampton: "I hated every minute of that. It was horrible watching it but the boys were brilliant and Hosk [Sam Hoskins] came up trumps again as he has all season.

"We said all season that we'd forgotten about last season but it never really leaves you. It's hard to forget it and it comes into the back of your head.

"With the injuries we've had I don't think there's another squad that could have gone through what we have and got promoted. It shows the character, the strength and the quality of the players we have got. I'm so happy.

"It's an incredible achievement from an incredible squad."