Northampton Town have sacked boss Kevin Nolan following a run of only one win in their past 16 league matches.
The Cobblers are 23rd in League One, three points from safety, having scored only 31 goals in 36 matches, the second lowest total in the league.
They drew a blank in what proved to be Nolan’s final game in charge, losing 1-0 at AFC Wimbledon on Sunday.
Technical director Colin Calderwood has been put in charge on an interim basis, assisted by Ian Sampson, both ex-Northampton managers.
“We will always be grateful to Kevin for his hard work here, he helped keep us up last season and we enjoyed a strong first half of this season,” chairman Kelvin Thomas said in a statement.
“But since Christmas the sequence of performances and results have led us to believe a change is in the best interests of all concerned.
“We are fortunate to have someone of Colin’s experience, supported by Ian Sampson and the rest of the staff to look after matters on an interim basis.”
Nolan’s departure came on the 129th anniversary of Northampton’s formation and they are the 10th League One club out of 24 to part company with their boss this season.
One win in 16 brings end to Nolan’s tenure
He was appointed in December 2024 after predecessor Jon Brady – now in charge at FA Cup giant-killers Port Vale – resigned and guided them to 19th place last season.
The 43-year-old moved to Sixfields following a spell as a first-team coach at West Ham, having previously managed Leyton Orient and Notts County.
They failed to win any of their first four games this season, before four victories in the next five lifted them to mid-table.
Nolan’s side beat AFC Wimbledon 3-1 on 19 December but ended 2025 with back-to-back defeats at the start of a run of nine games without a victory.
They eventually beat Stevenage 3-1 on 7 February but have not won in the league since then and last week were knocked out of the EFL Trophy at the semi-final stage, losing 2-1 at Luton Town.
Speaking following Saturday’s game, Nolan insisted he was ready for a “dogfight” to try and preserve Northampton’s third-tier status.
“We’ve got to scrap our way out of it – that’s the only way you get out of these situations,” he told BBC Radio Northampton.
“The relentless schedule has been ridiculous, it has hurt us, affected us but it’s now up to us to fight our way out of it.”
Northampton have 10 games left this season, the first at home to Burton Albion on Saturday.
Acting boss Calderwood led them promotion from League Two in 2006 and later had spells in charge of Nottingham Forest, Hibernian and Cambridge United before returning to the club as technical director in January 2025.
Sampson was manager from 2009 to 2011, having previously played almost 450 games for the club as a central defender.
