Northampton boss Jon Brady's rise from journeyman winger to promotion seeking manager

Northampton Town boss Jon Brady took some painful lessons into his managerial career.

Brady, 47, was determined not to make the same mistakes he saw at close hand during his playing days when he finally got a chance in management at the place he now calls home.

Aussie-born Brady was a journeyman winger, starting out at Brentford and eventually playing for 14 clubs but wanted to create the right “environment” for his squad which is now bearing fruit after a year in charge at the League Two promotion chasers.

Brady said: “Environment and being happy is such a key thing. That’s what I try to create at my clubs where players want to train, they want to work hard and no-one wants to leave.

“I had a tough journey really, it didn’t work out at Brentford after a scholarship. I went to Swansea for a year and a bit. But I had a real tough time, I wasn’t treated well, Bobby Smith the manager punched me at half time during a reserve team friendly.

“I think he got frustrated with me, trying a trick, losing the ball and that’s what happened. It was those times in the late 80s, 90s, which felt like the norm but I didn’t like it.

“There were times where, after a defeat, the manager would walk down the corridor, you’d say: ‘good morning’ and they’d either grunt or just ignore you. No-one wants to lose. You have to acknowledge people and treat them as human beings.

“I don’t like the attitude when managers ignore players when they are injured or not in the team. It shouldn’t be like that. ‘How’s the family? How’s everything?’ That’s really important. Maybe you have to go through that yourself to realise.

“Maybe things have gone full circle and I definitely didn’t realise at the time that I would be a manager at this level. But I promised