On Thursday evening, Cobblers boss Stuart Gray attended the latest NTFC SL Open Forum. For those who could not make the meeting; a brief round up can be found below;

Q: What is your contract situation?
SG: I am under contract for next season and I know the Chairman is keen to extend that. I am happy here and I am thankful to the Chairman for giving me the opportunity to get my managerial career back on track. The Chairman showed loyalty to me earlier in the season when we went 5 games without a point and a goal but now we want to kick on and I want to take the club further. The re-development is hopefully moving on and season ticket sales are at record levels for this stage and the plan is that we can carry on building and progressing both on and off the field.

Q: What is the situation with Mark Bunn?
SG: To be honest, I can't believe that no one has come in for him in the last 12 months but I am pleased that is the case. He has a lot of quality, he gives the lads at the back a lot of confidence and he gives us a great base to build from. Mark has another year on his contract and we would love to extend that if we can.

Q: What was behind Geoff Harrop's decision to stay with the club?
SG: it is a big boost for us to keep Geoff on our staff. Over the last few weeks the Chairman and myself have put a lot of hard work into keeping him here. Some people are perfect for their roles and I think Geoff is in his ideal position here. He has seen that he has a first team manager here who trusts him and trusts his judgement and who will give young players their chance if they deserve it.

Q: What is happening with the pre-season tour and what is the value of going abroad?
SG: We are back in training on June 30th, and going away gives our pitch and our training facilities a breather. The close season is so short we need to give it extra time to recover and prepare ahead of a long season. We are looking at going to either Slovenia based on a contact we have or we could go to Germany for a few days. With new players coming in, I think it is important for the players to spend 24 hours a day with each other to get to know and trust each other, and that builds team spirit. A number of clubs have contacted us to play pre-season games at Sixfields but at the moment none of the clubs in the Championship will totally commit to a pre-season game because not many of them know what league they will be in yet, either at the top or the bottom. We are looking at going to play Brackley as our first game before we go away but hopefully things will become clearer in the next few weeks.

Q: Does your summer wishlist contain players who are under contract with other clubs, or just free agents?
SG: It does contain players who are under contract elsewhere. A wishlist is just that, it doesn't mean we will get them but we have targeted players who are both free agents and those who would cost a fee from other clubs. We all want to kick on, and with the re-development, who knows what we could achieve?

Q: What were you doing at Barnsley v Hull City recently?
SG: I am from Yorkshire and I was on my way up to see my mum the next day. I was a Hull fan as a boy so I had a night off and decided to stop off and see my boyhood team on the way up to see my mum.

Q: What was the story behind the bid to sign Simon Cox in January?
SG: We thought we had a good chance of signing Simon Cox as he enjoyed his loan spell with us. The January transfer window co-incided with Maurice Malpas joining Swindon and with Simon's agent in talks with both clubs he went there and so we moved on. I am sure we will become more and more attractive to new players the higher we finish up the league and that will be a big help for signings this summer.

Q: The season showed a big upturn after the January transfer window. Why do you think this was?
SG: I think the attitude has always been good, but I think we started converting our chances from January onwards, and the dividing line between success and failure can come down to that. I am still disappointed by the defeat at home to Nottingham Forest. We were on a good run, we had a full house and we were ready to strike for the top six and we just couldn't quite kick on to that next level and that is the challenge for us next season. The higher you go up the football ladder the harder it is and we have to learn to handle those big occasions. I think we underachieved on occasions away from home against the bigger clubs and I as a manager will learn lessons from that.

Q: What positions are we looking to strengthen?
SG: I might bring a left back in, but on the other side of the field I think Ritchie Jones can kick on and cover Jason Crowe at right back so we might be Ok there. Generally I am looking at bringing mainly midfield and forward players in over the summer.