Nolan 'loving every minute' back in management after being given 'unbelievable opportunity' at Cobblers
Kevin Nolan is ‘loving every minute’ of being a manager again despite a less-than-ideal start to his reign as Cobblers boss.
After six years away from management, Nolan returned to the dugout on Boxing Day when he took charge of his first game as Cobblers manager, which ended in a 4-1 defeat at Reading.
"I was absolutely delighted to be back,” said the 42-year-old former West Ham and Newcastle captain. “I've had a big smile all week. It's an unbelievable opportunity for me and I thank Kelvin (Thomas) and all the staff.
"We knew it was going to be a tricky one but that's why I'm here and I want to prove that I'm a good manager and this is a great club to do that. I want to keep moving forward.
"I've only had nine or 10 hours kip in the last thee days but I'm loving every minute of it and I'm looking forward to what's ahead of us and I hope the lads are too because it's going to be good for them and I feel really positive that we'll start to get results.”
Whilst staying in League One is the immediate priority, Nolan has a long-term vision for the club to become an established third-tier side.
He added: "First and foremost we want to be in the league at the end of the season and then we want to build on that because we don't want to be in this position at Christmas next year.
"We want to be mid-table and we want to keep looking up and keep pushing. The next game is the most important one and we have 48 hours to prepare and we will prepare properly and we'll get more information into them.”