Big interview: Alan McCormack on his time at the Cobblers, winning promotion at Wembley and the appeal of Keith Curle

His time at the club may have been brief but Alan McCormack's contribution towards Cobblers' promotion success at Wembley last season will not be forgotten in a hurry.

McCormack missed the first two months of the season through injury and was then absent for another two months after Christmas, and yet he was a key cog as Keith Curle's side won promotion back to League One.

Tellingly, McCormack ended the season with the best win rate of any player in the squad. Ask any Cobblers supporter and that stat will not come as a surprise. He was also absolutely integral to Town's play-off wins over Cheltenham Town and Exeter City.

Rewind the clock back 12 months and the 36-year-old was not short on potential suitors after being released Championship-bound Luton Town. Eventually, it was Northampton that won the race for his signature, thanks in no small part to the manager.

"Anyone that sits down and speaks to Keith would be impressed by his views on the game and how he wants things done," explains McCormack. "He likes his clubs to be run from the dressing room.

"When you speak to him, you get a real good vibe in terms of what he wants to do and how he wants to do it. You feel comfortable and he makes you want to play for him.

"One thing that a lot of lads would tell is that you want to play for the manager and you want to play for Keith because of how he goes about it - he makes the place extremely enjoyable but then when you go out onto the pitch, it's down to the serious business.

"He has a great way of making players want to play for him and that was a big factor for me when I went to meet him before I joined the club.

"After speaking to other people and players, I felt Northampton would be a good place to play my football and I also thought they had a great chance of winning promotion. Obviously no-one could have predicted what happened later in the season but we took advantage of it."

A fully fit McCormack would be the envy of clubs at the top end of League One and maybe even the Championship, but it took just 60 minutes of the new season to find out why he ended up at a mid-table League Two team last summer.

"I came back in really good shape but I picked up a slight strain in the first week of pre-season," said McCormack, discussing his injury troubles at the start of the campaign.

"I've got a habit of wanting to be the first person to cross the line if we do a running drill and that's what I was trying to do - I pushed myself a bit too hard and picked up a little strain.

"It was a race against time to get ready for the first game. I felt fine in the MK Dons friendly but I had a little twinge in my hamstring after that game and I probably wasn't 100 per cent going into the first match of the season.

"In hindsight, I shouldn't have played and I should have given myself an extra week, but you want to prove yourself in front of your new supporters and you don't want to be missing out.

"It came back to haunt me, especially as I was just about to come off before the injury. It wasn't a bad one but I had to be careful and give it extra time to heel and the gaffer insisted he wouldn't bring me back until I was completely ready.

"But when I did come back, I played quite a few games and I really enjoyed it."

And it was no accident that McCormack's return coincided with Town hitting their best form of the season as they won five in six during the autumn, laying the platform for their promotion assault.

"We hadn't started the season too well but I think we got caught between whether we were going to play football or put the big men up top and hit them," adds the Irishman.

"We didn't quite understand the best attributes of the players around us but we signed a lot of new players and it's probably not until 12-15 games when it settles down a bit.

"We went on a really good run after the Scunthorpe game. I think we found our style of play with the three at the back and two fit wing-backs that can get the ball in the box and supply crosses for Vadaine (Oliver).

"We knew that was our best way of playing and we quickly adapted to that and worked on it a lot during training. That was our style of play and we weren't going to change it for anyone.

"But I always felt we could challenge for promotion, even after the Scunthorpe game. We had a very long conversation following that match and the confidence was still there because we knew we had good players and we knew, individually, we were very good.

"If we could get it to click, we felt we could challenge anyone in the league. We got a couple of wins under our belt and that was the trigger because from then on we went into every game feeling we could win and our confidence increased more and more each week."

However, just as McCormack was finding his groove and the Cobblers were steadily making headway towards the top three in League Two, injury struck again: this time a minor calf issue on Boxing Day that turned into something more serious.

"The second injury was a nightmare," admits the former Brentford, Swindon and Charlton midfielder." I just felt my calf tighten up in the game at Crawley but I had the scan the next day and I was given the all-clear.

"I was told to give it seven days rest and then it should be fine but the following week I just felt it coming on again and that's when I knew I had a problem.

"I should never have been out for the length of time I missed so that was really frustrating - and then when I came back the pandemic happened!

"I had no doubt that I would have been fit and available to play in the last nine games."

On the plus side, the enforced break provided an opportunity for McCormack to shake off any lingering niggles and make sure he was in prime physical condition for three huge fixtures.

"The play-offs were amazing," he adds. "To come from the first leg defeat against Cheltenham was unreal and then the final at Wembley was a little bit strange with no fans.

"But the nerves were still there because it's a final, you're playing at Wembley and Exeter are a very good side.

"It was always going to be difficult to repeat how we played the previous Monday but we knew if we played close enough to it, we could get a great result.

"We had another great start, scoring 11 minutes in, and we just went on from there. Of course 2-0 was a dodgy scoreline - as we've found out this season! - but the third goal was a massive relaxing point and then we were all just getting ready for the final whistle on the sideline.

"I kept looking at the gaffer and he was just as focused at the end of the game as he was at the start of the game but the emotions came out after it and we were all absolutely delighted - we could never have pictured winning 4-0 at Wembley in our wildest dreams.

"It has to be up there as one of my best moments in football. I've been asked a few times about my best memory but I can't really say any one moment is better than another because a promotion is a promotion and it's one of the best feelings you can have.

"I had never done it through the play-offs before so to do that was unbelievable. The only downside was not being able to walk up the famous steps and lift the trophy but we got to play and win at Wembley and to do it after the semi-final, it's definitely close to the top of my favourite moments in football and I'll always look back on it with fond, fond memories."

And whilst there was no supporters in the stands at Wembley, McCormack knew they had their backing from home.

"They've backed us right throughout the season, from Carlisle on a Tuesday night to the FA Cup games at Burton and Derby," he continues.

"The support they've shown us is superb and we've tried our best to give them joy and something to sing about and I think we rewarded them in the best possible way.

"It was amazing to get back to the ground after the play-off final and see hundreds of fans waiting for us - that's what it's all about at the end of the day.

"Of course we'd have loved for the fans to be at Wembley but the next best thing was to celebrate with them at the ground and that's another memory that I will keep with me forever and it'll always give me a smile when I think about it.

"We can't thank them enough for their support and I hope they now have a great summer and look forward to being back in League One because it's fully deserved."