Revell returns to where it all began for him after signing for Cobblers

The 32-year-old striker last week put pen to paper on a deal to join Northampton on a two-year contract, effective from July 1, turning his back on offers from a string of other Sky Bet League One clubs in the process.

Revell’s other suitors included Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United, as well as MK Dons, where Revell spent the final three months of last season, scoring four goals in 17 Championship appearances.

But the player has admitted that as soon as he knew Northampton were interested in taking him, he wasn’t interested in going anywhere else, for a number of reasons.

The first was how impressed he was with manager Rob Page, the second was the opportunity to play for a club he believes is on the up following last season’s stunning title success.

The third was the chance to move his young family and settle down closer to his parents who still live in his hometown of Cambridge - and then there was the lure of Sixfields.

That may be a strange thing to say when he has turned down the chance to play at the more dramatic settings of Bramall Lane or stadiummk, but the home of Northampton is somewhere that holds special memories for Revell.

“I made my debut here for Cambridge United,” he said.

“It was a long, long time ago, but it was a big day and I have pictures of it in my house and it does hold a massive importance to me. It would now be nice to get some other rewards here too, and I can’t wait to get going.”

Friday, April 13, 2001 was the date, and Revell entered the fray as a 75th-minute substitute for his first taste of senior football as a raw 17-year-old.

It was a good night all round for Revell as the Us managed a 2-0 win on what was a very Good Friday for the visitors from Cambridgeshire, who won the match thanks to goals from Ian Ashbee and Omer Riza.

It was the first step of a lengthy League career for Revell, although he had to drop into non-League between 2004 and 2006 after he was released by Cambridge.

He signed for Braintree, and 35 goals in two seasons brought him to the attention of Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Seagulls offered Revell a route back into the League, and he grabbed it.

After two years at the Withdean Stadium, Revell moved on for spells with Southend United, Swindon Town, Wycombe Wanderers, Leyton Orient, Rotherham United, Cardiff City, Wigan Athletic and the Dons.

He has netted 94 goals in close to 500 sernior appearances, which is a decent return, and the player himself says there is more to his game than just scoring - although he is looking forward to getting his shooting boots on at Sixfields.

Asked about what he sees as being his strengths, Revell said: “The thing for me is my work rate.

“I will never stop trying, and I will never stop giving everything I have got.

“I’m similar to Marc Richards in that my hold up play is good and if I am given the opportunity I am going to score goals.

“Yes, we are in league one and when I was at Rotherham my goals (record) was better than when we went into the Championship, but I feel if I am given the opportunities I will score. With the players we have at Northampton, I feel I am going to be given that, and the goals will be there as well.

“As a centre forward, you are judged on your goals.

“People can never fault your work-rate and things as long as you show you are willing to do that, but at the end of it all you are judged on goals and that is what I want to bring along with everything else.”

Revell has a wealth of experience playing at league one and also Championship level, and he feels the Cobblers are well equipped to handle making the step up.

“I think momentum and cohesion of the team are the most important things at this level,” said Revell.

“When you go into the Championship you have individual players that can win games, whereas in league one and league two if you have a team that is very hard to play against, like Burton last season, it can take you a long way.

“Burton didn’t score many goals last season, but they didn’t concede many, and that’s why they are where they are. Even towards the end of last season they had a real blip, but nobody caught them up.

“You look at Barnsley and they were bottom at Christmas and ended up going up.

“League one is so unpredictable, but I think a team that’s together and never gives in will always do well in it.

“We want to play good football and the manager did very well last season, nearly getting a team into the play-offs that were predicted to go down.

“So I think he is going to bring a lot of experience to us, and I think momentum is such a massive thing in football and hopefully we can carry that on into next season.”