Brady's personal touch was a 'massive' reason for Roberts' decision to choose Cobblers

Brady and Roberts had a detailed conversation shortly before he made the decision to leave Birmingham and head to Sixfields for a season-long loan.

"The main thing I got from the manager is that he's a people's person,” said Roberts. “He wants to understand the person, not just the player, and that's massive for me.

"I want to feel comfortable with a manager and it's nice when they want to get to know you as a person instead of just a player and how they can use you on the pitch.

"We had a good conversation about that and my journey and how my career got me to where I am now and we spoke about where I want to go from here.

"He asked me how comfortable I am in each position and where he sees me playing and I think we're both excited to get working with each other. We came in on Tuesday and had a good session together so it's been a positive start."

Although he’s spent most of the last few seasons playing in the Championship or Premier League, Roberts does have an idea of what he’s stepping into.

"Northampton are always a team I've known about,” he added. “I played in League One when I was younger and I played against Northampton a few times.

"The club has come on massive leaps and bounds in the last few years and I spoke to the manager about that. There's the new stand and even things like the pitch, it's in really good condition and stuff like that is important.

"There's some quality players in the changing room and some I know and others I have played with and against before so I'm looking forward to getting involved and hopefully lifting the standard even more.”