Jon Brady has fond memories of his time at Kettering - but he wants to spoil their big day out

Brady won promotion with Kettering under former Swindon and Notts County boss Mark Cooper in 2007/08, his only season at the club, before he retired from the game and moved into management with Brackley Town, where he won promotion from the same level the Poppies currently play at in 2012.

An adopted Northamptonian, the Cobblers boss is delighted to see Kettering going so well this season – they have won six in a row and are top of the table – but it’s down to business when they visit Sixfields for Saturday's FA Cup first round tie live on BBC Two.

Brady said: "I obviously played for Kettering and I had real fond times at the club. We won a league while I was there and the club did very well at the time when Mark Cooper was manager.

"They have had a lot of ups and downs since then but we will see a lot of familiar faces at the weekend and those people have been the foundation that has kept the club going.

"In our county and our town, there's so many people who invest in the local community and the local clubs and it's fantastic to see them going so well. I've managed at step three myself and it's a very tough league to get out of. We got promoted with Brackley from that level.

"We have watched the footage and they have played in front of great crowds and they're getting really good support. Days like this are brilliant for them but we don't want to give them anything to celebrate on the pitch.”

Cobblers have prepared for the game like they would any League One fixture.

Brady added: "You might have struggled to get a video back when I managed at that level 14, 15 years ago but nowadays the games are all recorded and the pre-game prep for us has been like any League One game. There's full respect for them and we will be prepared for the game.”