Chris Hogg reflects on Cobblers' shift in recruitment strategy this summer
Cobblers boss Chris Hogg has been reflecting on the summer transfer window and the club’s shift in strategy.
A mix of age and experience were among the 13 that arrived at Sixfields before last week’s deadline, but there was a clear focus on younger players and longer term deals, with Joe O’Brien-Whitmarsh, Matty Warhurst and Nathan Opoku all penning three-year contracts.
“We have an aligned strategy,” said Hogg. “I joined the club and I brought my ideas and my thoughts and it’s about how we implement those ideas and align them with Colin and the recruitment team.
“As a club, we are going through change, even me coming in is a change from the past. The quicker and the closer we can get aligned, the better, and I’m really pleased with some of the stuff we’ve done in the window.
“We continue to work behind the scenes, I’ve actually only just come out of a recruitment meeting to do this interview where we were planning for January - the work never ends.
“For where we want to get to, and for where I want to get to and the boys want to get to, we have to keep working and keep planning and be aware that it’s not going to be perfect.
“You never get every single one right with recruitment and that applies to even the biggest club. You can make loads of signings and seven or eight might be really good, a couple might be OK, and there’ll be one or two that you have to flip around in the short term or the medium term.
“But overall, I’m really pleased with where we are at as a club and it’s the alignment that is important to me.”