CLARKE CARLISLE is ‘unlikely’ to sign permanently for the Cobblers this summer but manager Aidy Boothroyd is refusing to concede defeat in his attempts to bring in the defender.
The 32-year-old was a big success on loan over the final four months of last season, playing every minute of every game and providing the stability and leadership that helped secure the club’s Football League status.
But Carlisle is likely to be in demand over the summer, and Boothroyd admits the fact that his club is located more than 100 miles away from the player’s home town will probably count against him.
“It is unlikely for the simple reason that it is not a mile down the round from his house,” he said. “If it was, it would be perfect for him with all the various things he’s got going on with his TV commitments and his PFA work.
“The fact he lives in Halifax and that he’s got a young family, all of these things take their toll.
“We haven’t actually sat down and made a concrete offer to him and he hasn’t been on the phone asking to sign every day, because he’ll have a lot of other offers.
“From a purely human point of view, as a guy who knows him well and who is his friend, it is important to get this move right.
“When you have kids you don’t get that time again and that can affect a player and that’s why I think it’s unlikely.
“We never give up hope because of what he can give us as a leader and those intangible things that people don’t notice, he was a big part in making sure we survived.
“It isn’t a yes and it isn’t a no at the moment, it’s a maybe and that won’t be concreted until the start of pre-season.”
Northampton remain in the hunt for a central defender, for whom the club are prepared to pay a fee, having seen a bid rejected in the last January transfer window.
The club are remaining tight-lipped over the identity of the target but it is understood Preston’s former Torquay centre-back Chris Robertson is not the man in question.
“It is a very strong possibility but it is complicated, as it often is,” said Boothroyd. “When you’ve got a buyer, a seller and a player in the middle it is often like that.
“Both clubs want the best price they can get and I don’t want to use up all of my budget to get one player when I need to be bringing in four or five.”