Hylton hopes to use his experience to help Cobblers win promotion

Summer signing Danny Hylton is planning to use his vast experience to help the Cobblers go one step further and launch a successful challenge for automatic promotion from Sky Bet League Two next season.

The 33-year-old has achieved promotion five times during his lengthy and successful career, including in back-to-back seasons with Luton when the Hatters went straight from League Two to the Championship between 2017 and 2019. After going so close last term, Northampton will be hoping to add a sixth promotion to Hylton’s CV in 2022/23.

It will be a tough ask in what should be a very competitive League Two next season, but Hylton believes his own experiences can make a big difference.

"It's something I probably didn't appreciate too much until I started getting older and reached my 30s,” explained the former Oxford man. “When you're young, you feel you don't need advice and stuff like that but when I look back and think of all the times I've been successful in my career, we have always had older players who have steadied the ship when we needed it and they would say the right thing.

"If I wasn't scoring or I wasn't playing, it was good to have someone with a bit of experience to say 'it's fine, you'll be OK' because you don't know how to deal with things when you're younger.

"If I can bring that experience to this team and help any individuals, then I'd be delighted to do that because I know how important it can be.”

Cobblers are hoping to bring in further attacking reinforcements this summer with Hylton and Louis Appéré the only out-and-out strikers in the current squad.

Asked what he will bring to the team, Hylton said: "I'm a forward and first of all I will work hard and I want to give the team a foundation to build on. If that means holding the ball up, winning flick-ons and being a focal point, then I will do that.

"I like working hard, I think that's a given for any player, and obviously I will be judged on scoring goals so I'll get in the box and try and do that but I'll do as much as I can.

"When you're on the pitch, the main thing is to contribute and give your all and I'll look to do that."

Hylton has endured some injury problems in the recent past but he’s confident he is over the worst of them, adding: "When I had the initial injury, there was a bit of trial and error to try and figure out what it was and how best to manage it.

"Since we have known more about it, there haven't been any issues. The injury is fine and my body feels fine. You do get some aches and pains when you get past 30 but I'm fit and I'm ready to go and I can't wait.”