Former Cobblers physio Denis Casey dies

Casey passed away on Sunday evening after fighting a long battle with illness.

He was with the club for more than 20 years, having first been appointed physio by manager Graham Carr in the summer of 1985.

He was the main medical man at first the County Ground and then Sixfields for a string of Cobblers managers, from Carr through to Stuart Gray.

Casey's first association with the club was in the 1960s when he played for the club's youth team.

He went on to enjoy a strong non-League career, playing for Wellingborough Town, a club he also managed, in the UCL and then the Southern League as well as Banbury United.

While at Banbury he moved on to the training side of things, and in 1978 he began a diploma course in physiotherapy, becoming qualified in 1980.

Casey ended up doing some physio work for Carr when he was manager at Nuneaton Borough, and when he moved on to the Cobblers, the new Town boss called Denis and offered him the job at the County Ground.

And was to stay as the club's physio for the next 23 years.

Casey headed up the physio department at the Cobblers for Carr, Theo Foley, Phil Chard, John Barnwell, Ian Atkins, Kevin Wilson, Kevan Broadhurst, Terry Fenwick, Martin Wilkinson, Colin Calderwood, John Gorman and Gray, before retiring and being succeeded by Stuart Barker in 2008.

He looked after the fitness and well-being of hundreds of Cobblers players, and was a constant at the club through many highs and lows.

The highs included the 1987 division four title win, the 1997 Wembley win over Swansea City, and promotions in 2000 and 2006.

On the flip side, he was also at Town when they flirted with relegation out of the Football League and almost went out of business in early 1990s, as well as the similar issues the club faced in the early 2000s.

Casey was an incredibly popular figure at the Cobblers, and was given a benefit in 1998, with Town taking on their county rivals Rushden & Diamonds in a pre-season match at Sixfields.

The Cobblers announced the news of Casey's death on Sunday night, with a statement reading: "We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former long term first team physio Denis Casey.

"We send our sincerest condolences to Denis' family and all who knew him. He was a fantastic servant to the club and will be sadly missed."