Thomas pays tribute to Brady as Sampson takes temporary charge of Cobblers

Sampson played over 400 games for the club and had two spells in charge before he was appointed academy manager in 2019. He then returned to the dugout when replacing Colin Calderwood as Brady’s number two just over a year ago.

Cobblers chairman Kelvin Thomas paid tribute to Brady and also confirmed that Sampson and Marc Richards will oversee first-team duties while the club seek a new manager.

He said: "We really appreciate what Jon has done for the club, initially within the academy and over the last four years or so as first team manager.

"I personally appreciated Jon's kind words earlier this week when he acknowledged how well supported he had been by the club, however we also all fully understand the real pressures that come with being a manager and while we all would have preferred things to be different, we understand Jon's decision. We will now work with Jon and the LMA on his exit agreement.

"In the meantime we are fortunate that we have a talented, passionate and experienced staff, headed up by Ian Sampson, to oversee things in the interim and allow us the time to work through matters. We also firmly believe we have both the talent and quality within the squad and every confidence in the players at the club.

"It is clear we are a bit of a wounded animal on the pitch at the moment, but we know that the Cobblers supporters will always step up when needed and are sure they will get behind the lads at Sixfields on Monday."