James Whiting

G O O D E V E N I N G A N D W E L C O M E B AC K T O S I X F I E L D S F O R O U R P L A Y O F F S E M I F I N A L S E C O N D L E G T I E W I T H M A N S F I E L D T O W N .

Iam sure we are in for a dramatic, tense and exciting evening full of twists and turns and I hope you all enjoy the game.

Saturday’s first leg had all of that and more. Ali Koiki’s goal capped off a very strong second half performance and we come in to tonight’s second leg with everything all to play for. The tie is set up nicely with a full house in here at Sixfields and a watching TV audience on Sky Sports.

Whatever happens in this play off second leg, we can be proud of all that we have achieved this season.

To think that just over 12 months ago we were playing behind closed doors in empty stadiums and now we are playing at Sixfields in front of big crowds with such a strong connection between the club and the supporters shows how much progress we have made this season, and Jon, the staff and the players deserve every credit.

A year ago following a thorough and detailed review we made the decision to do things a little differently. We appointed a new management team, invested in improved training facilities and approached our recruitment in a slightly different way. We did this to bring medium and long term progress, but we needed to also be successful in the short term because we are in a results business. We continue to evolve, but I think the evidence shows our plans are working and we can all be excited about what the future holds. We have enjoyed an excellent season at first team level. The average age of the team has been significantly lowered and to secure 80 points and finish just four points off the top is a remarkable achievement. In most seasons that would see us automatically promoted and we were of course incredibly unlucky not to do so. It wasn’t quite to be in terms of automatic promotion, but here we are in the play offs with everything to play for heading in to the semi final second leg.

Away from tonight’s game, the Academy has enjoyed a good season, we have another batch of young players coming through and they enjoyed a good run in the FA Youth Cup. Alongside that, the Northampton Town Football & Education programme has enjoyed a very successful season with a number of notable performances, both individually and collectively.

It has been another fantastic season for the Northampton Town Women, and all of us at the club offer our warmest congratulations on their title win and promotion. The progress made by our female football programme in recent seasons is quite astonishing and next season we will be playing in the fourth tier of women’s football. That is some rise.

We have had another wonderful season in the community, and I never cease to be amazed at the difference the club and our Community Trust make to so many people’s lives. Our community work has had to be flexible and has had to adapt during the last two Covid affected years, but we have done that and I am proud of the impact we have and continue to have.

That work has been highlighted by the recent nomination for the More Than Football Award 2022. The club and Community Trust have been nominated alongside the likes of European giants Juventus, Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen and Feyenoord as one of just ten clubs from across Europe shortlisted and is recognition of the club’s Tackling Loneliness project. Such a nomination shows how highly our work is regarded and that is something to be very proud of.

I would like to thank all of you who have supported the club this season. Home and away, through rain and shine, your support has been fantastic. We will look at some of our attendance figures in more detail once the season has finished but we know we have recorded our highest fourth tier average attendance in 16 years, even beating the 2015/16 title winning season and that despite having five midweek home games this season and some small away followings. That shows how strong the connection is between the club and the supporters and we are very grateful to you all for your support.

Your support has played a big part this season and we need you to help raise the roof here at Sixfields tonight. We need a wall of noise from first whistle to last, getting right behind the lads, to give us the best chance of trying to come through what is a very difficult semi final tie.

Season tickets for next season remain on sale. The discount period runs until the end of this month, and we have been hugely encouraged by the number of season tickets sold so far. We are expecting sales to pick up further as we get closer to the discount deadline and a big thank you to everyone who has or who will purchase a season ticket. We really do appreciate your support.

Finally from me, thank you to our sponsors this evening, Jackson Grundy, AM Water Services Ltd, Midland Scaffolding Services, J Sweeney Accountants, the Lane family and EasiServ.