With recruitment at the Cobblers pretty much the sole activity at the club at the moment, the role of assistant manager Andy King has become more crucial than ever.
King’s job description contains a whole host of responsibilities, both official and unofficial and ranging from overseeing pre-match warm-ups to individual player motivation.
One of his primary roles in-season is to take charge of scouting, and his knowledge of the free agent market – combined with a solid understanding of what clubs Northampton are up against when they look to make any potential new signings – elevates King’s importance at the club.
Virtually all of the signings the club made after King and Aidy Boothroyd arrived in November were successes, and the club’s powerbrokers are confident the duo will come up trumps with the new additions they make during the close season.
“Andy’s role is absolutely vital,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how good a coach anyone thinks they are or how organised you can get a team, you’re only as good as the players that are in that team.
“So your recruitment, whether that be your players or your staff, is absolutely critical to whether you’re going to be successful.
“You can’t always get what you want but knowing what the market is and what’s out there, and having the contacts to access it, can be key.
“You’ve got to pay them the money in the end, and that’s where the chairman comes in, but you have to identify the targets first and know what your competition is in terms of signing them.”
Meanwhile, Toni Silva scored just one goal in his time as a Cobbler, but the winger has drawn healthy praise from Aidy Boothroyd for his contribution to last season’s successful fight against relegation.
Silva was drafted in on loan from Liverpool and made an instant impression, evading three challenges and hitting a shot that that squirmed up for Luke Guttridge to head home and secure a precious victory over Wimbledon.
There were other glimpses of his obvious class – a goal and virtuoso display of counter-attacking wing play at Dagenham being another highlight - although they were often in short supply in what was an at times inconsistent introduction to senior football for the Portuguese teenager.
But Boothroyd said: “I’m really grateful to Toni for his impact and the contribution that he made.
“He scored a goal for us and he made a couple of important ones as well.
“That goal he made for Luke Guttridge that secured us a late win over Wimbledon was a massive three points for us at that moment.
“There were a few key moments in the season but that was one of them, that run and shot that led to the Guttridge goal.”