Chairman Thomas a happy man as he appoints Edinburgh as Cobblers boss

The 47-year-old former Tottenham Hotspur defender was named as Rob Page’s replacement on Friday, and he is a manager that Thomas has admired from afar for a few years now.

The chairman revealed that Edinburgh saw off plenty of other applicants to land the post, and said his style of play, his experience, and the ‘solid progression’ of his career were all factors in him getting the job,

Edinburgh, who has signed a two-and-a-half year deal at the Cobblers, has a win ratio of 41 per cent across almost 400 matches as manager of Rushden & Diamonds, Newport County and Gillingham, with one promotion on his CV having guided Newport out of the Conference and into the Football League in 2013.

He also almost steered the Cobblers’ county rivals Rushden & Diamonds out of the Conference in 2010, but they lost out to Thomas and Chris Wilder’s league two-bound Oxford United in the semi-finals, and even then Edinburgh caught the eye of his new chairman.

“We spoke with a lot of managers this week and had a lot of applications, but Justin’s teams have always impressed me with the energy that they play, even back to his Rushden days,” said Thomas.

“His career has seen a solid progression upwards from non-League through to league one and he is has managed a lot of games in his time, so the experience is there.

“I have also spoken to a lot of people in the game and had very positive feedback.

“He knows how to get results especially when going into clubs.

“We have talked a lot today about the squad, and he is excited about starting to work with them on Monday.

“He thinks we have good players, that he knows well, and is confident of winning football matches with this group.

Edinburgh, who was also approached by the Cobblers in 2014 as they tried to replace Aidy Boothroyd, will be at Sixfields on Saturday to watch his new players take on Scunthorpe United, but he doesn’t officially take charge until Monday and caretaker boss Paul Wilkinson will still be in charge of the team against the Iron.

It has been a dramatic and hectic week at Sixfields.

After a run of nine defeats in 11 games and Saturday’s 5-0 capitulation at Bristol Rovers, Page Page was sacked on Monday morning.

Thomas has been very busy and moved quickly to name his new man, but of course Edinburgh arrives at Sixfields having himself been dismissed by Sky Bet League One rivals Gillingham on January 3, with the Kent side a place below the Cobblers in the table.

But Thomas is confident that negative experience is one that Edinburgh willl quickly learn from, and that will be of benefit to the Cobblers.

Edinburgh’s record at Gillingham saw him take charge of 102 matches, winning 40 of them and losing 36, but chairman Paul Scally felt that wasn’t good enough, sacking him after a 1-0 home defeat to Oxford United on January 2.

“We have talked about his time at Gillingham and why that ended,” said the Town chairman.

“And it certainly feels like he has learned a tremendous amount from that experience, which will hopefully be to the benefit of Northampton Town Football Club.

“Once we had made this decision we wanted to make the announcement quickly, however think it is best that Justin will not meet the press or be interviewed until Monday as all focus now goes towards the game tomorrow, and we look forward to seeing everyone at Sixfields.”