Buchanan still 'humbled' by love from fans and says Cobblers are now 'my team'

Buchanan made a heartfelt farewell at the end of last season after racking up nearly 200 appearances for the club, many of which were as captain.

He played every minute of every game during the title-winning season and continued to make the left-back spot his own for the following three years.

His heart-on-sleeve approach to the game made him a firm favourite in the stands and he still feels 'humbled' by the love he continues to receive from Cobblers supporters.

“It’s weird to say but Northampton feels like my team and it’s like home to me and that’s why it was so hard to leave,” said the now-Chesterfield defender.

"The highest club I played at was Preston but the best team I played in was Northampton because of everything about the football club.

"That's not only representing the club and being captain because I've got lifelong friends in Northampton and they are supporters who I met through playing for the club. I left my heart and soul at the club."

Although he might now be playing for a different club, Buchanan has been a regular watcher of the Cobblers this season, either in the stands or online.

"I still watch the Cobblers games on iFollow and stuff and I get to as many games as I can," he added. "I watched them beat Plymouth at the start of the season and I was at Salford and I've been to a number of other games too.

“It’s been unbelievable with Chesterfield this season but every time I go back to Sixfields or watch the Cobblers in the stands, the reception I get off the supporters is different class.

“That makes me more humble than anything else I achieved because the people that pay to watch the games respect what I’ve done at the club.

"It still means a lot to me. I love the football club, I loved working there and I loved wearing the shirt.

"I had a great relationship with everyone who worked at the place and I know everybody from the groundsmen to the kit men to the people who clean the ground.

"When I sign a contract for a club, you've got to be all-in and regardless of whether or not my time at Northampton was successful in terms of winning a league title or how many games I played, I don't think anybody could question my commitment to the club.

"That applies whether I was in the team or out of the team. That's managers, coaches, players, anybody. Even when I wasn't in the team and I wasn't being selected, I was never a bad egg around the dressing room, so to speak.

"If I got told to come in on a Saturday morning to train, I came in, I got my head down and I tried my best. If I wasn't in the team, I always turned up and wanted the team to win.

"I trained the same way and I put demands on people and every time I gave it my all because for me it was personal and I was very proud to wear the shirt."