Former Huddersfield and Portsmouth boss picks Jon Brady as his manager of the season

Former Portsmouth, Huddersfield and Lincoln City boss Danny Cowley has heaped praise on Jon Brady for the job he did in leading Northampton to automatic promotion from League Two following the heartbreak of the previous season.

After missing out in harrowing circumstances 12 months earlier, the injury-crippled Cobblers secured their return to the third tier when beating Tranmere Rovers 1-0 on the final day of the season last month.

Asked to pick his best manager on BBC Radio 5Live’s Football Daily podcast, Cowley said: "I’m a football romantic so I’m going to say Jon Brady after the way Northampton missed out on promotion on the final day of last season with Bristol Rovers beating Scunthorpe. Northampton had won their game and they had done their bit and I really felt for them at the time.

"I felt for them during the play-offs as well because once they had missed out on automatic promotion, you almost knew that they weren’t going to win the play-offs.

"But they’ve come back and I think they have been really consistent all season, they have a group of players who are really together and they have a clear way of playing and for them to beat Tranmere on the final day and get over the line, I was really pleased for Jon and for the club.

"I listened to his post-match interview after that Tranmere game and he spoke with such emotion when talking about his players and his backroom team and how it was a real collective effort. You can tell he has created a fantastic environment at the club and a real sense of belonging.”