Colin Calderwood has revealed that Northampton Town will focus on improving their possession percentage heading into next season.
The Cobblers are now focusing on the future as their time in League One comes to an end at the weekend at home against playoff-chasers Plymouth Argyle on top of a match tomorrow night against Barnsley.
Calderwood Lays Out Plans
It is set to be a massive summer for Town with the club on the verge of receiving a much-needed cash injection with an unnamed group looking to invest at Sixfields, which could massively change the landscape of the club’s business in the transfer window.
Regardless of that potential income, interim manager Colin Calderwood is pressing on with the club’s rebuild on the pitch, and revealed where the club will focus on in terms of player profile when speaking to the Northampton Chronicle & Echo.
“We need lots and lots of improvement in lots and lots of areas. Some of the lads will obviously be around for next year and the moments that obviously need to change for next season is our output and our ability to affect matches.
“We need to be more effective when we have the ball because we lose possession too many times when it should be comfortable for us. We have to improve that to an acceptable level. You can’t always keep the ball but it’s the first improvement we need to make.
“When you have a bit of joy in possession and you’re in the ascendency, people tend to think you’re a bit nastier, and what we do with the ball, and being able to keep it better, will make us a look a far tougher outfit.”
Change In Tactics Needed
Northampton Town have had an ultimately horrible season in League One, and barring two wins on top of Port Vale dropping points in their own final match, the Cobblers will finish in last place come the final whistle on Saturday evening.
As Colin Calderwood has identified, the club’s failures can be chalked down by their inability to control the ball during matches, best highlighted in Town being second bottom for average possession across the whole season with 44.6%.
However, the only team below them in that chart is League One champions Lincoln City, which hints that perhaps there are other ways for the club to find success if they can become much more clinical in their counter-attacking opportunities.
Nevertheless, this season has proven that there needs to be wholesale changes at the club in order for them to bounce back and that starts with the appointment of a new permanent manager to enable Calderwood to head back into his off-field role.