Cobblers boss pleased with recent defensive addition
Chris Wilder says the signing of Rod McDonald is another example of how, like Lawson D'Ath, Josh Lelan and Adam Smith, he is prepared to give young players a chance to progress and develop.
"Rod has been outstanding and has done all we have asked of him," said the Cobblers boss.
"We have seen him in games where he had time on the ball and we have seen him when we have been under pressure against better opposition and he has done well. There is still some work to be done but we think he has a lot of potential to improve and make us better.
"We knew about his playing history and his background and we were looking for a left footed centre half with some pace and power and he has done very well. He isn't the finished article, but he can play in the first team and he can do a good job and develop for us. He has been in non-league football for a while but we think we have discovered a player here and he adds depth and competition and strength to our squad.
"We can't go and get a squad of 26 players who have all played 200 plus games, we need to have a mixture of senior players and gems we unearth and we feel comfortable we have got one of those in Rod."