Northampton Town boss Boothroyd: We want to buy players not sell them

Aidy Boothroyd has stressed the Cobblers are not in the market to sell any of their players in the current January transfer, and will instead put the focus on making new additions to the squad.

Town go to Gillingham on Tuesday night for a second-against-third npower League Two clash and are likely to be unchanged from the side that won at Aldershot a week ago.

Weekend results were kind to them too; although Southend, Fleetwood and Burton Albion all won, they maintained third place in the division because Rotherham United sustained a shock home defeat to Bristol Rovers and Cheltenham could only draw with Rochdale.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Maintaining a run of form that has returned five wins in six games is now the target, and to do so Boothroyd recognises the need to keep the squad together.

Although leading goalscorer Adebayo Akinfenwa has been linked with a move away from Sixfields, the policy agreed between the manager and club chairman David Cardoza is to buy rather than sell.

“Where we are in the table currently, it (transfer activity) would be about strengthening,” said Boothroyd.

“We don’t want to weaken our squad and as a club we are all on board with that, David (Cardoza) is on board with that, and that’s our plan.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“If the right one becomes available we would look to bring them in.

“We’ve got a small squad when you look at it and when you start to get into the final 18 games we’re on the home straight now really.

“It’s important to have enough depth to cope with loss of form, suspensions or injuries to all positions and I don’t think we’ve got that yet, but we’re close.”

Last season’s January transfer window was a vital period for the club and for Boothroyd, who signed Clarke Carlisle, Ben Harding and Luke Guttridge during it, recruits that helped preserve the team’s Football League status.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But there is a feeling that this season it is little more than a distraction to a manager who prefers to be on the training ground than in the office.

“I don’t really like this time of the year because there’s a lot of time-wasting going on,” he said. “There’s a lot of brinkmanship goes on and that’s the nature of it.

“I’ve been here long enough to know that there can be a lot of false promises and a lot of hot air. It can be quite disruptive to your players.

“Three things have to happen for a transfer to go ahead - the club has got to want to sell, the player has got to want to leave, and there has got to be a buyer.

“We haven’t reached that situation with anyone yet, either in or out.”