Town have reiterated their commitment to increasing the size of Portman Road. And it is Churchman's it seems which will be increased by 4,000 seats next autumn. Previously we had been told that the North Stand would be enlarged, however it seems that the developments will take place at the other end of the ground. Town secretary David Rose said that not everything was entirley in place as yet with contracts being negotiated etc, however he believed the work should be finished by this time next year. He added "Planning and construction times have got a lot quicker over recent years as firms become more experienced in this type of development. We would hope to start work before the end of this season, do much of the heavy work during the summer, and complete the extension during the early months of next season to have it finished in the autumn."
Jamie Clapham has signed for Town for an extra year. The wing-back signed from Tottenham is now committed to Town until summer 2003. Last season's Town Player of the Year said: "I have been in discussions over my contract for some while, and now I'm pleased it's all gone through. I still had a while left, but I signed at a lower wage while I was trying to prove myself."
Richard Naylor, Mark Venus and Wayne Brown have also signed new contracts this season.
Matt Holland has been confirmed as part of the Irish squad for the play-off with Turkey. Some reports had suggested he was only on stand-by, however he has been confirmed in the actual squad. Town will now wait and see whether Richard Wright and David Johnson are called up for England and Scotland respectively before seeking to have the game with Tranmere on November 12th called off. If either player is not called up Town will find themselves without at least one key player for the match with the Birkenhead side.
Former Town man Kieron Dyer goes in for an operation on his calf and will be out of action until Christmas. Dyer said "It is a straight forward operation to relieve pressure on my calf muscle and the doctors are not expecting any complications to arise. The condition was getting worse, which was why I haven't been so sharp recently, but I'm sure that surgery will put things right. I'm a quick healer, so I'm hoping to be back sooner than people expect. When I broke my leg with Ipswich last season I was only out for six weeks, but I'll be sorry to miss the two Euro 2000 qualifiers against Scotland this month."
Former Town striker Kevin Wilson was confirmed as manager of Northampton earlier this week. He succeeds another former Town player Ian Atkins at Sixfields.