Emotional McGowan explains why it was 'very important' for him to play for Cobblers against Chelsea in EFL Trophy

​The 27-year-old captained a young Cobblers side and played the full 90 minutes on the same day his dad so sadly lost his life to cancer.

"It was very important to me that I played tonight,” said McGowan. “Something that my father always wanted was for me to go straight back to work.

"We have planned for this moment for a long time, it's not been an overnight thing, but it's obviously been a very difficult 12 months.

"This is what he wanted. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to play or not but you have to get through it and to be honest I'm proud of myself. That was for my family tonight.”

Unbeknown to those on the outside, McGowan has continued to play for the Cobblers whilst dealing with difficult circumstances in his personal life for the past year.

Now, though, he hopes he can put things behind him and move on, both personally and professionally.

"I've had a bad 12 months behind the scenes and people don't always know what's going on,” he added.

"It has been hard but in a way this can be a reset button for me and weirdly I'm looking forward to it.

"It's obviously not been the best week but I'm still fighting and I just want to get straight back to work on Thursday and help the lads down at Exeter on Saturday.”

McGowan was one of several senior players who started Tuesday’s EFL Trophy tie against Chelsea Under-21s at Sixfields, but by the end of the game he was surrounded by academy youngsters.

Shaun McWilliams and Tyreece Simpson were on target as an entertaining first half ended 2-2 before Jon Brady rang the changes. Eight teenagers finished the game, including 16-year-olds Neo Dobson and Matthew Ireland.

McGowan added: "I felt like Jon Guthrie at the end! But I said to the young lads after the game that they should be very proud of themselves.

"Those Chelsea boys are the best in the country in their age group but I thought the way our lads applied themselves, especially in the last 20 minutes, was something to really hold onto.

"They should strive to be like the Chelsea youngsters because you see the movement and the way they play. It's a lesson for our lads if you put your mind to it.

"But it's got to be every day. It can't just be when there's fans here and it's the EFL Trophy. You have to apply yourself every day but I thought they were incredible and I'm very proud of them.

"It's great to be around them as a more senior player and it's a good night for the football club. We do have injuries and there are lads who need minutes but we needed the young boys to step up and they did that.”

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