Northants legend Allan Lamb does not believe David Ripley was the right choice for the head coach role at the County Ground.
Ripley was handed the post on a permanent basis on Wednesday after a spell as interim boss.
Lamb, who signed for Northants in 1978 and went on to become one of the county’s all-time greats, says he’d like to have seen a fresh face installed.
But he remains hopeful that stalwart Ripley will go on to prove him wrong.
“You’ve got to give him a chance but my personal feeling is that I would have looked for someone from outside,” said Lamb. “That’s my personal view, but I wish him well and I hope he does a great job.”
“I think Northants needed someone who hadn’t been there at the ground. They needed someone from the outside to come in and change the way things are.”
And he added: “That’s their decision but my personal opinion is that I hope he does really well, I hope he proves me wrong but I think Northants needed someone from the outside.”
Northants have endured a tough season, struggling under David Capel before former Academy boss Ripley took charge on a temporary basis early last month.
And Lamb feels it would have been best to bring someone in who wasn’t associated with the past regime.
He said: “He knows the young players coming through but I just feel they know how he operates so there’s going to be nothing new, it will just be his way of running it.
“He’ll be very strict with the players, that’s a good thing, and lay his ruling down. I wish him luck but I would have thought they may have looked outside.”