Brendan Moloney interview, part 1: Title-winning full-back recalls how Cobblers move revived his career

In the first part of an in-depth and wide-ranging interview, former Cobblers full-back Brendan Moloney recalls his move to the club in 2015 and how it helped revive his career.

The 31-year-old, who started out at Nottingham Forest and also briefly played on loan for Rushden & Diamonds, spent three and a half years at Sixfields and was a key member of the team that so famously swept to the League Two title in 2016.

But re-wind a few months and things were not going quite so well. Moloney had played just a handful of games for struggling Yeovil Town, bottom of League One at the time, when Chris Wilder and the Cobblers came calling with a proposition that would transform his career.

"I left Bristol City to go to Yeovil in the previous summer but I didn't have a great time there," recalls the Irishman. "I remember coming up to the January transfer window and I found out about the opportunity to go to Northampton on loan.

"When I first heard it was a possibility, I was keen on the move straightaway because things weren't going well at Yeovil and I felt I needed a change.

"I spoke to Chris and I remember from the first meeting we had that he came across as a winner and someone who was always up for the fight. He hated losing.

"I actually think at the time Northampton weren't doing too well and there was a bit of pressure on his job.

"The league position wasn't good and it wasn't what people had expected so I felt some pressure to help the team get some results.

"I was quickly into training on Friday at the start of January and then we had a game on the Saturday so I was thrown straight into it!

"But that was the start of it and everything went from there really. We drew that game and then won five in a row and that was the start of it."

Moloney initially signed on loan for the rest of the season at the start of January but, just one month later, he had done enough to warrant a permanent deal.

"I was a bit surprised to sign so quickly because I only joined on a loan deal at the start of January and by the end of the month I had signed a three-and-a-half-year contract," he admits.

"It was surprise to go from a three-month loan to a contract like that, but I knew it was the right thing for me because there was such a great buzz around the place and I got on so well with Knilly (Alan Knill) and Chris.

"I really liked it at the club from the start and we also had a few other players come in at the same time as me and I think everyone kind of connected."

Although the Cobblers stuttered to 12th place in his first season, Moloney sensed there was better things to come.

"It was such a good dressing room and everyone clicked with one another and everyone really got on," he added.

"We finished around mid-table but we went on a couple of really good runs and I think we all knew what we were capable of and we started to realise what we could actually go and do the following season.

"We won quite a few games and although it was too late in the season at that stage, by the end of that season everyone knew what we could achieve and we grew in confidence and took that into the following season."

You can read more from Brendan Moloney in Thursday's Northampton Chronicle & Echo.

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