Cobblers' promotion to League One is the sweetest Calderwood has ever experienced

Cobblers’ promotion to League One is the most ‘rewarding’ assistant manager Colin Calderwood has ever been experienced during his long and successful career in the game.

Calderwood, who returned to Sixfields as Jon Brady’s number two in 2021, has won multiple promotions as either a player, manager or coach during his distinguished career, including as Town boss in 2006, but the trials and tribulations of the past 12 months make this success his best yet.

"It’s really rewarding because of what happened last year,” said the 58-year-old after Monday’s promotion-clinching win over Tranmere. “It’s been two years of hard work to get to this stage. Do we deserve it? Yes I think we do. Not just for this season but for the last couple of years.

"When we conceded the late goal to Bradford, we said to one another ‘look, we’ve waited a year, we can wait another week’ and fortunately we've got the job done.

"The majority of the time it’s about the players and I’m an imposter speaking now because it’s all about the manager. He’s the one who carries the can all of the time and he’s the heartbeat of the club.

"There’s a connection between him and the supporters, you can see that, and it’s just really rewarding, almost more than anything else I’ve done.”

Calderwood admitted they were keeping one eye on events at Stockport during Monday’s game, adding: "The lads had a television and we got the information but we had to stay professional. That game might have finished elsewhere but you could still concede two goals and lose the game.

"The injuries in the group and what we have had to go through, that’s why it’s the most rewarding promotion I’ve been involved in. In a squad of 28, we’ve been using numbers 21 to 28 week after week and that’s testament to Jon’s coaching because they come in and there’s no difference in the performance of the team.

"The fans have been brilliant as well and I think we can really galvanise the people of the town. When you run out, it just feels different and it feels bigger and better and we are really enjoying their support.”