Boothroyd beaming after opening win as a Cobbler

Boothroyd: 'We’ve got players who are quick and who can counter-attack teams'

Goals in either half from John Johnson and youngster Akwasi Asante gave Northampton their first win since October 1st last year. Kevin Ellison fired a goal back for the Shrimps nine minutes from the end.

And that was enough to see our favourite ex-head farmer Aidy Boothroyd, though it's a head to head with Parkinson, taste victory for the first time in charge at the Sixfields stadium since joining the club in late November.

Boothroyd said: "Morecambe are a very good side but we dug in and held them out and managed to score from a set piece and a counter attack and our game plan worked really well. It's been a long time coming and I am delighted for the players and the fans and I think we deserved it overall. It's a big relief for everyone but I know it has been coming and hopefully we can now go on and build on it."

Hopefully not against us of course, as we face the still struggling Cobblers away this weekend. 

Boothroyd continued: "We have started the new year with four points from two away games and that is a good return. The last year was a poor one and we have to make sure that 2012 is a better one for the club and we are making progress. We have a way to go yet and I want to bring in a couple of new players during the window to keep everyone on their toes but I hope now we can start looking upwards and move up the table."

Not at our expense mate!

He told www.northamptonchron.co.uk: "It’s not really a weight off my shoulders because there are fine lines in football. When you’re on a bad run sometimes you can’t see where a win is going to come from but since day one that hasn’t been the case. Against Crewe I thought we faded badly but I did think that we were well worth a result. And then in the Burton and Swindon games we went right to the end and to go toe-to-toe with teams like that was a bit naïve really. So I didn’t think it was very far away. I thought it was important that we didn’t get beat at Shrewsbury, really important, because the belief comes from evidence from some people. I didn’t need the evidence because I knew it would come if we kept creating chances we would get the win. We can dig in and we can win games. We’ve got players who are quick and who can counter-attack teams and I think can manage to get a clean sheet at some stage.”

It must be a blow however losing former Leeds keeper Shane Higgs with a bad injury soon after signing him on an 18-month contract, he brilliantly saved Lee Barnard's late spot kick that earned his then side a point back in 2009 at Roots Hall.

Though not in the side that gained that all-important victory on the Lancashire coast Higgs has been made man-of-the-match on a couple of games before his forced absence with a string of several important saves.

While replacement Freddy Hall was criticised in some local circles for being in error for the Morecambe goal, being a touch slow to react to the free ball after he had made the initial save.