Guthrie turned down League One clubs to join Cobblers

Defender impressed by club's 'ambition' after leaving Scotland
Jon Guthrie.Jon Guthrie.
Jon Guthrie.

Defender Jon Guthrie has revealed he turned down offers from League One in favour of a move to the Cobblers.

The 28-year-old was one of four players to join the club this week when agreeing a two-year contract at Sixfields.

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Guthrie enjoyed his time at Livingston and was well-liked by supporters up in Scotland, but his desire to leave for personal reasons at the end of last season sparked interest from several clubs in England.

"I had quite a few offers to be honest," he said. "I had a couple of offers from League One but I wanted to come to a club where the ambition would be to win promotion.

"I wanted to go to a club that I believe had a chance of doing that and looking at the offers I had, I felt Northampton would be the best option for that and that made my decision quite an easy one."

And it was a conversation with Jon Brady that proved key in persuading Guthrie to sign on the dotted line.

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"I obviously had a couple of conversations with the gaffer and he told me about the plans for the club," added the 6ft 3in defender.

"When I made the decision to come back to England, I wanted to go to a club that had ambitions to be promoted and I certainly feel Northampton are a club that which to achieve that.

"So listening to everything the gaffer said, and hearing about the club's ambition, it just felt right for me and ended up being a bit of a no-brainer."

Guthrie was a popular man north of the border and picked up various awards during his two years at Livingston, but family had to come first when deciding his next career move.

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He continued: "I loved my time at Livingston and I had a brilliant two years there, probably the best two years of my career up until now.

"They really took me in and took to me so that was amazing, but there are personal things to consider and getting back to my family was a big factor.

"I also wanted to get back to playing in England. I'm English and I missed that feeling of playing England, especially when I spoke with all my friends who were playing in this country.

"I just felt I was missing out on that side of it but also a big part of it was family because being up in Scotland with my wife was quite tough at times. To be closer to home now is a big plus."