McWilliams hoping for good reception from Cobblers fans on Sixfields return

The Northampton-born midfielder rose through the youth ranks and played over 200 games for the club but turned down a new deal in favour of a move to Rotherham at the end of the 2023/24 season.

Injured when the Millers visited Sixfields last season, McWilliams should be fit and potentially starting when they head back down south this weekend.

"I’m really looking forward to going back there,” he said. “I missed last year’s game because I was injured at the time so it’ll be nice to go there and see a few familiar faces. I’m not sure what sort of reception I’ll get but hopefully I’ll get a good one because there was no bad blood when I left and I loved my time at Northampton.

"My whole career was spent at the club before coming here and I have nothing but respect to everyone who works there and I’ll enjoy seeing them on Saturday. I can’t wait to go back, but I’ve got a job to do at the end of the day and we want to come away with three points.

"They are higher than us in the league at the moment but I think we should be going to places like that and trying to take three points. There’s a lot riding on this game for us and getting the win would be vital. The morale around the camp is good so we go there with confidence and in the right frame of mind.”

McWilliams has made 11 appearances in all competitions this season and was on target against Wigan last month, but he’s missed the last two League One fixtures.

"I picked up a little niggle which put a spanner in the works but I just want to play as many minutes as I can this season and try and kick on,” added the 27-year-old. “I think I’ve shown what I can do but it's about being more consistent for longer.”