Kevin Nolan's honest verdict on his first 50 games in charge of Cobblers
Just ‘OK’ is how Kevin Nolan has described his first 50 games in charge of Northampton.
The former Newcastle, West Ham and Bolton skipper returned to management after six years away when chosen as the man to replace Jon Brady two days before Christmas last year.
Nolan overcame injury problems and inconsistent form to keep Cobblers in League One before overhauling the squad during the summer, and they now sit 14th in League One ahead of Saturday’s derby against Peterborough, his 50th game in charge.
Asked for his assessment as he approaches his half century, Nolan said: “OK. If I was looking at myself, I’d say I’ve done OK. I did the job that I was brought in to do – to stay in the league – and now what we have to do is push on because we don’t want to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.
"We want to be competitive in League One and matching teams week in, week out. I would have liked a few more wins, I must admit, but we are getting there and this is now a team which is an extension of me and I’m trying to mould it to make sure we are successful in this league.
"It's a tough league and people harp on about budgets, and obviously there are some big budgets, but we know what we are and not trying to be anything else other than Northampton Town and we’re proud of that. We know we have to battle above our weight to sustain ourselves in League One and that’s what I want to be doing for a number of years.
"We've got to stick to our budget and we know that and I've known that for a year now and it doesn't change. What we have to do is perform and play above our budget and I feel we've done that a lot this season. That's probably been the most pleasing thing for me and I'm hoping for more of that for the rest of the season.
"I'm really happy to be here and I'm really enjoying my time. I’ve loved every minute. It's a fantastic club and a great environment to work in and I'm really proud of the work we've done and where we are but we want to continue to push boundaries and try and get better.
“We’re heading in the right direction but there’s still plenty of work to be done and we never want to standstill. I enjoyed my time as a coach at West Ham but there’s nothing better than being in the hot seat because you’re there to be shot at and I’ve always enjoyed thriving under pressure and being a bit of a risk-taker."