Kevin Nolan sets out his hopes and expectations for the 2025/26 League One season

After a summer of wholesale change, Town go into the new season with a very different squad to the one that ended last term. Fifteen players have departed Sixfields with 13 – so far – coming through the door, and Nolan is counting down the minutes to kick-off

"I just can't wait to get going,” he said. “We feel like pre-season has gone really well and I've been pleased with the players we have brought in. They've all come in and showed a great attitude and a desire to want to get better and to want to get fitter and stronger.

"I'm hoping we will see rewards from that throughout the season, starting on Saturday. It's a really tough start against a team who have spent a bit of money but we're thoroughly looking forward to it and we're hoping we can match them.”

Previewing the new season, which starts at Wigan, Nolan is confident that he and his players can defy gloomy pre-season predictions and enjoy a successful campaign. Many bookmakers and neutral onlookers have tipped Cobblers to struggle.

"The biggest thing for me is to build on what we did at the back end of last season,” Nolan explained. “We stayed up with a couple of games to go and everyone was able to breathe a huge sigh of relief. That gave us the chance to look and assess the squad this summer and see where we could improve it, and now we want to attack this season.

"It'd be nice to stay clear of that relegation fight and not be in and around that. I want to get towards the middle of the table and push limits and most of all I want us to be competitive. We competed with a lot of big clubs at the end of last season – the likes of Stockport and Birmingham. They didn't find it easy against us and I want that throughout the season and I want come away with points because I felt we let a lot slip last season. Wins became draws and draws became defeats and when we bad, we were really bad.

“We need to change that and on days when we'e not at our best, we still have to find a way to get a point, and if we're playing well, I want us to keep three points or at least get a point. That's what I'm looking for from my squad this season.

"We want to stay away from the bottom of the table and we want to be looking up. That's something I've spoken about since I came in. We keep looking up and keep trying to get closer to the next team above us. If you do that, you don't need to worry about the teams below you. That's the aim and that's the focus I want from my lads.”