Kevin Nolan has 'no interest' in players who 'only talk about money' as Cobblers play the waiting game

Large sums of money are once again being thrown around in both League One and League Two this summer and that means clubs like Northampton, who have a relatively modest budget in comparison, need to be astute in how they spend their money.

Ten new faces have already joined Town since the end of last season but it is the striker market that is proving particularly difficult and competitive, with the wage demands of players and agents forcing Nolan to bide his time in his search to add some much-needed firepower to the squad.

"We have to be absolutely sure,” he said. “I've had some really good discussions with Kelvin (Thomas) and the owners about the overinflation of wages in this league but when we pounce, we pounce the right way.

"I don't want people coming into meetings and saying 'I want x amount of money' because that shows they are only about the money. I want them to come to Northampton because they want to play for us and they want to be a part of what we're doing here.

"We're trying to move the club forwards and if they're only talking about money, I'm not interested. When we're on the Zoom calls or we're on the phone to players, I need to have that feeling that they want to come here and be part of what we're building and what we're tying to create.

"It's for the benefit of the club in the long run so that people want to come and join Northampton in the future. That's what I'm tying to do in my time and the lads who have joined us, they wanted to come here and they turned down other clubs to sign for Northampton. That's what we've got to do.

"The strikers are always the ones that get out last if they come out on loan or they're always waiting until the last minute because they want the bigger money. The defenders moan because they say strikers get paid too much! But I'm still looking to strengthen all over the pitch, especially through the spine, and we’re working hard to do that.”