Dean Bowditch has opened up about his time at Cobblers, describing Sixfields as a ‘difficult environment’ during his two years at the club.
The 39-year-old, who retired in 2020, briefly played for Cobblers on loan as a youngster in 2007 before returning to the club during the period when 5USport were heavily involved, signing a two-year deal in 2017. He scored three goals in 31 league games before leaving in 2019.
“Justin Edinburgh gave me the call to come over,” explained Bowditch to the MK Dons website in a recent interview. “I was at the stage in my career, the back end, where I didn’t really want to be travelling here, there and everywhere. There was a lot going on from a family point of view so I didn’t want that. I was offered a club abroad but Northampton was the best opportunity for me.
“It was a time in the club’s history where they’d had a bit of investment and they ended up bringing in something like 15 new players so we ended up with a humungous squad. I was a part of the wave signed by Justin, who came in before that.
“I probably didn’t get the most out of my time at Northampton, not through a lack of trying, it was just a difficult environment to try to secure a player in the squad. Justin was moved on very quickly, which was a shame because he was a really good guy, and then we had a couple of not-so-great managers in that period.
“That led to me getting towards the end of my career, and that point in 2019 when I was asking myself what do I do next. It coincided with the birth of my son, so I just decided to retire, and that was it. A few months later my wife told me to go and play football again! That’s how I ended up briefly at Stowmarket but I finally hung my boots up in 2020.”
