Thomas explains the financial difference between League One and Two for the Cobblers

Chairman Kelvin Thomas says the Cobblers are prepared for various different scenarios ahead of next season, from having fans back in the ground in League One to playing behind closed doors in League Two.

There are still many unknowns about the 2020/21 campaign due to the impact of coronavirus, including when the season will start and whether or not supporters will be able to return to grounds by then.

And for the Cobblers, they have the extra uncertainty of not yet knowing which division they'll be in ahead of Monday's play-off final against Exeter City.

"Promotion is always a good thing in terms of financing the club and it does change the income but it also changes the wage structure a little bit," said Thomas.

"It's not as big as a jump from the Championship to the Premier, for example, but it definitely will improve things and we'd obviously like to be part of it. We're just glad to be in a position to be part of it.

"We've got an idea of different scenarios in terms of fans in the ground, fans not in the ground and streaming revenue for next season.

"There's a conversation about streaming on iFollow and I think there are some encouraging noises on that if fans aren't allowed in the ground, so we've got a bunch of different budgets of both League One and League Two and that's part of James' (Whiting) job - to look at all the different scenarios."

Thomas admitted it was a gamble to play in the play-offs this season given the added cost, however Monday's superb win at Cheltenham made it one worth taking.

He added: "The disappointing thing about the first game was that everybody at the club had worked so hard in the build-up and everyone had come together - the players, the staff, the fans - and it wasn't easy to get to that point.

"But as somebody told me when I first got involved in football, you can get everything right off the pitch but you can easily get beat on the pitch and it'll feel flat and I think it felt very flat after Thursday.

"A lot of people wrote us off but I think the boys and Keith used it as a motivational tool and that's what we do as a club - we try and do things and we do them together and I think the unity shone through.

"It was nice what Keith said after the club when he paid tribute to everyone at the club and all the staff in the background, especially the medical boys because they got them prepared.

"I think it was the fittest I've seen us in that game and hopefully we can take that into Monday because Wembley's a big pitch and fitness will be important."