Northampton Town

Gilligan pens new Cobblers deal
Northampton Town midfielder Ryan Gilligan has signed a new two-year contract with the club. The 21-year-old was due to leave Sixfields at the end of June but his new deal will keep him with the Cobblers until 2010. "I'm delighted that Ryan will be with us for at least another two years," said manager Stuart Gray. "I've seen an improvement over the season and hopefully he will be able to kick on from that again next season." Gilligan moved from Watford three seasons ago and has scored eight goals for the Cobblers, four of which came this season. Gray added: "I've said before that he has needed to add goals to his all round game and having scored in two of our last three games this season hopefully he will now be able to build on that. "He is a good young player who is still improving and I think there is still definitely a lot more to come from Ryan."

Bunn poised for Blackburn switch
Northampton goalkeeper Mark Bunn is poised to join Premier League side Blackburn, subject to a medical. The Cobblers have agreed an undisclosed fee with Paul Ince's side for the 23-year-old, who began his career in the Tottenham Hotspur youth team. He spent four years with Northampton and also had a loan spell at Kettering. Rovers chairman John Williams told Radio Lancashire: "We have agreed a fee with Northampton for Mark Bunn. The player will have a medical on Sunday." Bunn's probable final game for Northampton was a notable one, with the Cobblers beating Bolton in the Carling Cup at the Reebok Stadium. In May, Northampton placed a £1m price tag on Bunn following interest from Nottingham Forest, while he also spent a short time training with Manchester City.

Fat chants spur me on - Akinfenwa
Northampton Town top scorer Adebayo Akinfemnwa says that getting abuse from opposition fans about his weight only drives him on further. Striker Akinfenwa, 26, scored his seventh goal of the season in the 3-1 win over Crewe on Saturday. "I just wanted to score so I could shut the fans up behind the back of the goal," he told Radio Northampton. "I know it's a cliche, people say it spurs them on, but it generally does. I badly wanted to score to shut them up." He added: "Opposition fans are going to give you stick and they did give me stick throughout the game."

Gray defends chairman's outburst
Northampton Town manager Stuart Gray has backed his chairman after David Cardoza's outburst in the club programme at the weekend. Cardoza attacked the small minority of Cobblers fans who, he believes, use the media to criticise his leadership. Some fans have accused Cardoza of asset-stripping which the chairman described as "uninformed rubbish." "He's invested a lot of money and his heart is into Northampton," Gray told Radio Northampton. "Unfortunately it's an expensive business running a football club. "Supporters come and they pay their money but I'd rather they get behind the team than not support the team. "But it's a minority, you can't stop it." Writing in the club programme for Saturday's 1-0 win over Hartlepool, Cardoza commented on "an awful lot of doom and gloom written by a small number of supporters in the media who seem to wish us harm."

McGleish re-signs for Northampton
Northampton Town have re-signed former favourite Scott McGleish on a month-long loan from Wycombe Wanderers. The 34-year-old striker returns to Sixfields where he was twice voted player of the year. During his previous spell with the Cobblers he scored 54 times in 126 starts, before leaving in January 2007. McGleish will be available for the FA Cup tie against Leeds and his loan spell will end on 25 November following the league match, also against Leeds. The London-born front man has a good record of scoring in the lower leagues and had netted 34 times in 69 starts for Wycombe. After moving to Barnet in 1997, McGleish scored 42 goals in 123 starts during a three-and-a-half year spell at Underhill.

Cobblers get Doig fitness boost
Northampton Town captain Chris Doig came safely through 90 minutes for the reserves to raise hopes of an imminent return to full fitness. The 27-year-old defender has been on the sidelines since picking up a hamstring injury during the Cobblers' FA Cup tie at Leeds in November. Doig played for Northampton's second-string against Colchester on Tuesday. "He will have benefited from that," reserves coach Ian Sampson told the club's website. "He looked a bit stiff towards the end of the game, but he got 90 minutes under his belt and that's the main thing," he added.

Gray hails hat-trick hero Clarke
Northampton boss Stuart Gray has claimed that striker Billy Clarke is just what the club needs following his hat-trick on his debut against Crewe. The 21-year-old, signed on loan from Ipswich last week, played a starring role in the Cobblers' 5-1 victory over the League One strugglers at Sixfields. "We've been creating chances and the ball has been bobbling around the six-yard box," said Gray. "But we haven't had that many players who can score from there," he added. "I saw little glimpses from him that he really comes alive and can sniff out a chance. "Billy gambles and anticipates. He will make nine runs and maybe not get his break, but he keeps going." The Republic of Ireland Under-21 international is the first debutant to score a hat-trick for Northampton since Cliff Holton against Crystal Palace in September 1961, and his opening goal - after just two minutes - was the quickest by any player making his first appearance for the club.

Gray blames red card for defeat
Northampton manager Stuart Gray has admitted the dismissal of defender Paul Rodgers was the turning point in Tuesday's 2-1 defeat at Colchester. The 19-year-old, on a month's loan from Arsenal, was sent off by referee Iain Williamson following a second yellow card just before half-time. "I just felt it was very harsh," Gray told Radio Northampton. "Paul was very unlucky to get booked for his first challenge - there was no malice in it." "I had no problem with his second yellow card, but the referee just seemed to dominate the game again. "He was consistent, because he gave fouls for both sides. It was just his decision-making," he continued. The Cobblers were leading 1-0 when Rodgers got his marching orders, and the home side then secured the points thanks to second-half goals from Mark Yeates and Scott Vernon.

Gray gives Cobblers an ultimatum
Northampton Town manager Stuart Gray has told his squad they're playing for their contracts ahead of Saturday's crucial game at home to Walsall. The Cobblers have slipped to 18th place in the League One table, just five points clear of the relegation zone. Gary told Radio Northampton: "We've got players who are out of contract at the end of the season and they have livelihoods to earn. "They must realise that it's down to them to earn a new deal." Gray made no secret of his disappointment following last weekend's 2-1 defeat against Oldham at Boundary Park. "The way the market is at the moment, it's up to the players to put themselves into the shop window. "And if they put in performances like the one at Oldham, they might be fighting and scrapping with hundreds of others at the end of the season," he added.

Give Sampson the job - Gilligan
Northampton Town midfielder Ryan Gilligan has dedicated his midweek goal to caretaker manager Ian Sampson. Gilligan scored his fourth goal of the season with the opener in the 3-1 win over Rotherham and hopes it will lead to Sampson getting the job permanently. "I was more pleased for him than myself because I know how eager he is to get the job," the 22-year-old told Radio Northampton. "I think that if he gets the job he'll achieve great things here." "I'm one of the longest serving players at the club and I've known Sammo now since I was a kid so it's nice obviously for him."

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