The time is now as Saints players are expected to 'come of age'

Much has been said about the potential of this black, green and gold group that has been developing since Chris Boyd took charge in 2018.

But with Boyd having departed this summer, Dowson and his fellow Saints coaches are determined to finally deliver silverware during the forthcoming campaign.

Boyd helped to secure two top-four finishes in the Gallagher Premiership during his time at the Gardens.

The most recent of those came last season, when Saints played well in the semi-final at Leicester Tigers but eventually lost out to the team who would become champions.

It was a difficult experience but one that should stand Dowson's side in good stead in the months ahead.

And scrum guru Matt Ferguson has outlined the messages that have been given since pre-season started at Northampton School for Boys last month.

"The energy has been high," assistant coach Ferguson said.

"When you go from one season to another, you always sit on the beach in the summer and reflect a bit.

"You often wonder what the mood will be going into the new season and there was definitely the frustration of how last season ended with the thought we didn't quite achieve what we could.

"That was carried into this pre-season and it led to a real buzz on day one and it felt like a real buzz about getting on with work.

"It was just a frustration really and Dows set the tone fantastically well on day one of his regime.

"The overall message is that as a club and a team, we want to go forward, on and off the pitch.

"We can use last season as a motivation and we've got a good foundation to go forward from.

"But we have to take those opportunities to be a team that finishes in the top two rather than the top four.

"We need to be a team that wins 95 per cent of the matches, not 90 per cent of the matches.

"We need to be a team that converts eight out of 10 chances, not six out of 10 chances.

"The whole message was really well received and we underlined that we missed a chance at the end of last season, and now it's time to take it."

And Ferguson added: "We've got that go-forward mentality individually and as a group.

"They've got to go forward as individuals and players like Manny Iyogun and Ehren Painter are competent Premiership players - they now need to become dominant Premiership players.

"That's across the whole squad and that was very much the clear message that's been driven almost daily by Dows.

"Individually, as units, as a team, as a club, let's take that step forward.

"There's a lot of people who we expect to come of age."