FOLLOWING my decision to step down at the end of the season from the team-manager’s role and after close discussions with John Trewick, we decided to use the last two matches of the season for him to get some experience of taking charge of the team.

So Saturday proved to be a big change for me.

Having got to the hotel and ascertained where players were eating and so on, instead of sitting down for a meal with them, it was into the bar and, probably appropriately, having a glass of bitter.

Then on to the ground and, as is part of the routine, to check out the pitch, to wish the players all the best, go into the dressing room to wish John and the rest of the staff good luck for the afternoon.

And then on to the strange part – to the board room for a meal, and I was as interested as everybody else when the team-sheets came around.

I had no idea what side John was going to pick and I was also interested in one or two of Northampton’s players.

Being in the board room does give you an opportunity to find out information about other clubs, about our hosts and how they are faring financially and what their plans are for the coming season.

They needed to win to ensure their League 1 safety and so there was a fair degree of anxiety in the board room.

And so to the game.

I thought we played extremely well in the first 45 minutes and because for periods we were dominating the play the crowd became anxious.

But as so many times this season, against the run of play, I felt, we went a goal down.

We certainly should have gone in level, particularly after a number of chances went begging while Steve Guinan was unlucky to hit the inside of a post and see his shot come out.

But I did notice one player in the Northampton side, a front player who had plenty of pace and discovered that he had come from Glenn Hoddle’s academy for young players in Spain.

Glenn and his former England assistant John Gorman were in the boardroom at half-time so I spent the 15 minutes picking their brains about their set-up and what might be available for the future.

The second-half was somewhat similar to the first; we were playing reasonably well and it was another tremendous strike from Northampton to put them 2-1 up.

I know John was bitterly disappointed with his opening game, but overall I felt we did well enough to take something out of the game.

The experience will have been good for him, as will Saturday’s against MK Dons. With them having nothing at stake, it would be good to finish the season on a winning note.

But sitting in the stand is going to take some getting used to.