Calderwood: I can't overstate how delighted I am to be back at Cobblers

Assistant manager Colin Calderwood says he 'can't overstate' how 'delighted' he is to be back at the Cobblers.

The 56-year-old Scot made the 'tough' decision to leave Blackpool earlier in the summer and return to Sixfields as Jon Brady's number two.

Speaking at Tuesday's fans' forum hosted by the It's All Cobblers To Me podcast, Calderwood spoke about his decision to leave a Championship club and drop back down to League Two.

"It was tough," he admitted. "It was an emotional end to the season and the play-offs are the best way to go up. The option was there to stay at Blackpool, but I also had the option to come here and this is an option I wanted to take up.

"It was nothing to do with location, it is simply that I like working with people who are ambitious, I know the club and I know the area and it is just having the chance to offer my experience to help the club move forward.

"I cannot overstate how delighted I am to be back. All I want to do is to help, Jon, Marc (Richards) and the club to be as successful as we can be."

Calderwood will team up with Brady for the first time this weekend when Cobblers host Port Vale in their opening League Two fixture.

"I have learned from various teams, it is not about the first game of the season," Calderwood added: "It is about where you are after ten games or so. The best place to be is an improving team still improving six to ten games in.

"The first game often bears no resemblance to the season ahead. The teams who are still improving six to ten games in are the ones who will challenge."