Title win with Cobblers is Buchanan's 'proudest moment in football'

Lifting the League Two crown as Cobblers' vice-captain in 2016 will go down as David Buchanan's 'proudest moment' in football.

The 33-year-old enjoyed a remarkable first season at the Cobblers after signing from Preston North End the previous summer, playing every minute of every game in all competitions.

He also skippered the side in the absence of regular club captain Marc Richards as Cobblers romped away with the title, finishing 13 points clear of the rest.

Buchanan had helped Preston to play-off final glory the previous year but he says nothing tops winning the title in such emphatic style with Northampton, not even scoring on his international debut for Northern Ireland.

Speaking to the Chron for an in-depth interview about his time at the club, Buchanan said: “I think winning the title got to be right at the top and probably my proudest moment in football.

“When I look back on my career, I’ll be proud of a lot of achievements right from starting out as a professional footballer.

“Making my international debut and scoring away in Italy is up there and also winning promotion with Preston, but I think what we did at Northampton has to be at the top.

“To win a league title in the fashion that we did and to play as many minutes as I did and have a real impact on it was phenomenal and it definitely ranks as my best achievement.

“I’m proud of everything I’ve done but if you ask anyone who wins a league, even the best players in the world, it’s a special feeling and it wasn’t only that, it was also the stats that came along with it and the way we did it.”

It’s four years ago to the day since the Cobblers sealed promotion with a home draw against Bristol Rovers, and only one week later they also wrapped up the title

Chris Wilder's rampant team blew away all challengers in the second half of the season, winning 10 games in a row in January and February and not losing at all from the turn of the year.

“As a player you feel untouchable,” added Buchanan. “You’re playing every week, you’re at the top of your game and you’re playing with a group of lads that you love going to work with.

“Some of the goals Ricky (Holmes) scored were incredible and we were on such a high as a squad and as a team that we felt we could win from anywhere, even when we went 2-0 down at times.

“It didn’t matter who we played or what we did, we felt as if we could beat anybody and everyone was on top of their game.

“I would loved to have had just one more season with that group of players just to see what could have happened but to be fair I think that’s what any Northampton fan would say! It was a very special season."