Brendan Moloney on Chris Wilder's famous speech and Cobblers' off-field troubles

But what happened over the next 12 minutes has gone down in Northampton folklore. Despite beating Notts County 2-1 just moments earlier, football was barely discussed as an irritated and restless Wilder launched a remarkable outburst at the club's mounting off-field problems.

A proposed takeover by Kelvin Thomas, which would rid Northampton of their immediate financial issues, was being delayed and with the club due in court for a winding-up petition the following week, Wilder's patience had snapped as he implored then-chairman David Cardoza to sell up.

Whilst it was not the sole factor in the eventual takeover two days later, his impassioned speech certainly played a part and the rest, as they say, is history.

Brendan Moloney scored the winner against Notts County earlier that same day but the focus shifted dramatically once the manager had his say. And as it turns out, not even the players were aware of Wilder's interview until they got on the team bus.

"We didn't know he was going to go out and give such a passionate speech about what was happening off the pitch," revealed Moloney.

"It was just like any other game for us because we were in the dressing room afterwards and had a quick chat about the game, as we usually do.

"It wasn't too long but we had a bit of a laugh and a joke and everyone was in good spirits because we had just won the game and we were in good form.

"I don't think it was until we got on the bus a little later when we saw his interview, but to be honest that just shows his passion and the feelings he had for the club.

"He knew the position we were in at the time and he was desperate not to see the club fail."

The backdrop of Northampton's financial turmoil during the early stages of that season only adds to the fairytale of their eventual title success.

Galvanised by the support of fans and united by a common cause, the players were unwavering in their pursuit of glory.

"The only thing we could control was the result on the pitch and when things are going well, you just don't want to let it slip," Moloney adds.

"We were keen to keep ticking over and keep winning games. Obviously you would hear stuff from the outside and that but we were just focused on the job in hand.

"We were being reassured that things would get sorted and it was a bit like 'you just keep doing your side of things and we'll do our side of it' so we just made sure we didn't let it slip because we had put ourselves in a strong position.

"That helped keep our focus I think. We were well placed and we wanted to finish it off by getting promotion - that was our goal.

"May it would have been different had we been near the bottom of the table and struggling but we always had that goal of winning promotion so we said to each other to keep pushing and thankfully, in the end, it all worked out."