Northampton Town: Guttridge ‘I never wanted to quit Cobblers’
LUKE GUTTRIDGE says he never wanted to leave the Cobblers.
The midfielder became the latest former Northampton player to return to Sixfields when he signed an 18-month contract last Friday.
The transfer, which is being viewed as something of a coup in league two circles, went through rapidly following Guttridge’s release from Aldershot the previous day.
The 29-year-old left Sixfields 18 months ago at the same time as Adebayo Akinfenwa and although both have since returned, Guttridge says he did not want to go in the first place.
“I always loved playing at Northampton, I loved coming here when I was at Cambridge as well,” he said.
“It’s a good stadium with good fans, I really enjoyed the area and I’m always coming back here to see people anyway.
“I didn’t want to leave in the first place but sometimes it’s not your decision to stay. I’ve always looked, whenever a new manager has gone in there, to see if there is a chance of coming back.
“I’m absolutely delighted it has all gone through and I’m delighted to be back.”
What won’t have delighted Guttridge is the plight of the club since he left.
He was part of a team that almost reached the play-offs in his final campaign but a relegation near-miss followed that, and they currently find themselves rock bottom of the Football League, although Guttridge feels that situation will soon change.
“There’s enough in this squad and in this team for us to start winning games if we get the rub of the green,” he said.
“If we win on Saturday then we go into the next game looking upwards.
“There are a lot of teams in and around it that are struggling and once we start winning one or two games people will start looking over their shoulders.”
Once it had been established that both parties were interested in doing a deal, the transfer was completed pretty rapidly.
“I have to give a big thank-you to Kevin Dillon really, he rang about and there were a few clubs but as soon as I knew Northampton were in I went for it,” he said.
“I’m not worried about where we are in the league because I know we’ll get out of it.
“The manager rang me at 6.30 on Thursday evening, we had a chat and sorted out a contract that night.
“As soon as I got off the phone I came straight up, we did the medical and everything and that was it.”
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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SteveRiches
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 06:48 PMWell, although I've had doubts about re-signing past players now they are several years down the line, this could work out if we use him properly this time. He has great vision with the ball when allowed to express himself, and he can get out of tight situations in midfield with clever footwork and then set others free. Fingers crossed!
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