Thomas 'excited' by summer business but warns the proof will be in the pudding

Chairman Kelvin Thomas believes it’s shaping up to be an ‘exciting season’ for the Cobblers after some impressive recruitment in the summer transfer market.

Town made their sixth summer signing on Tuesday when talented young defender Sam Sherring agreed a two-year deal from Bournemouth.

Akin Odimayo also joined the club a few days earlier and both men were involved on Tuesday when Cobblers beat St Mirren 3-1 in their opening pre-season friendly.

"I think it's shaping up to be a really exciting season,” said Thomas. “We had a harsh end to last season and it doesn't feel like long ago but now we need to look forward and build on what we did last year.

"We did really well but we want to improve, learn and get better."

In addition to the new signings, Cobblers have also kept together the majority of the squad which did so well last season, bar Liam Roberts and Fraser Horsfall.

Thomas added: "It doesn't happen a lot at this level but it was something that we focused on last summer because we didn't want to bring in a lot of extra players.

"Obviously we couldn't keep hold of Liam Roberts and Fraser Horsfall but that was understandable and we wish them both well.

"But we managed to keep Shaun (McWilliams) and that was important and we also still have the core of the team from last season and we can build from that.”

Cobblers bided their time before adding to the squad with six players now snapped up, but there is good reason for that, as Thomas explained.

He added: "Colin (Calderwood) has been very involved in recruitment but Jon (Brady) has the final say and he does spend a lot of time watching videos and looking at all the stats and information. He is very thorough.

"We get a lot of accusations about not spending money but there's always a lot of work going on in the background to make sure we sign the right players and the right characters as well.

"We have made some exciting signings and I have had a lot of positive feedback from supporters but my response is always the same - hopefully they are as good on the pitch as they are on paper.

"There were some very encouraging signs in the friendly on Tuesday and we also have some exciting prospects coming through the academy.

"A lot of them played against St Mirren and all of those things are important to us."