The Game
Northampton Town v Argyle. Sixfields Stadium. Saturday, 2 May. 3pm. Sky Bet League One.
The Situation
Argyle are eighth, one point behind Luton Town and two behind Stevenage, both of whom Argyle have to overhaul to reach sixth spot, and get a place in the play-offs.
There are a lot of permutations across the whole of the play-off positions, but Argyle’s situation is relatively straightforward. For the Greens to reach sixth, they must win, and hope that Stevenage and Luton both fail to win.
Stevenage are at home to Wigan Athletic, with Luton away at Bolton Wanderers. If either of them win, Argyle cannot catch them. For the Pilgrims, only a win will do, a draw is not enough to get to sixth place.
The Opposition
Northampton are already consigned to relegation to League Two, and are bottom of the league with 35 points from 45 games.
The Cobblers started the season slowly, with just one point from their first four games, but they improved, and began to accumulate points to rise up the table a little. Northampton have won nine games all season, and they won eight of them between 23 August and 19 December, across 16 matches.
Since beating Wimbledon in the week before Christmas, Northampton have played 25 games, and won just once. They have attained eight points across that period, and have lost their last ten in a row.
The Gaffer
Colin Calderwood, 61, had a playing career as a centre-back which started at Mansfield Town, and took in over 300 games for Swindon Town, including their promotion to the Premier League. He moved to Tottenham Hotspur, where he stayed for six years, before brief spells with Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest wound his career down.
On retiring, Calderwood became reserve-team manager of Spurs, then got his first managerial role at Northampton. Taking the Cobblers up from League Two, Calderwood moved on to manage Forest, where he stayed for two-and-a-half years. He went on to be Chris Hughton’s assistant at several clubs, with a spell as Hibernian boss in between. He has also spent time as manager of Cambridge United, and coach with Blackpool and Southampton, before returning to Northampton as Technical Director in January, eventually becoming the interim boss in March.
The Squad
Scottish midfielder Dean Campbell has played more than anyone else for Northampton Town this season. The 25-year-old spent six years at first club Aberdeen, before moving to Barrow for two seasons, then arriving at Sixfields last summer. He has played 41 league games, starting 40 of them.
Tom Eaves (below) always feels like he scores against Argyle. He scored earlier this season for Northampton; scored a hat-trick on the final day of the 2017/18 season for Gillingham, and one earlier that season; and scored for Rotherham United at Home Park in 2023. He actually has six goals in nine games against us. The 34-year-old has also played for Shrewsbury Town, Yeovil Town and Hull City, among others.
Previous Meeting
Earlier this season, the sides met at Home Park, with Northampton winning 3-0, with goals from Tom Eaves, Elliott List and Jordan Willis. Argyle’s Lorent Tolaj was sent off with the game at 1-0.
A Strip for the Trip
Argyle will be wearing their pink third kit for this game.
Argyle TV
Argyle TV’s coverage will begin with the Pre-Match Show, which starts at 2pm, with Erin Black and Aaron Cusack joined by Brian McGlinchey. They will then hand over to the stadium for live commentary from Rob McNichol and former Argyle captain Karl Duguid.
Match passes to watch this game on Argyle TV are available overseas. CLICK HERE for more information.
