Midfielder made first senior appearance at Rochdale
Academy graduate Shaun McWilliams made his debut for the club at Rochdale on Saturday and boss Justin Edinburgh is keen to see more young players coming through.
McWilliams follows in the footsteps of a number of local players to have come through the Academy to play for the first team in recent years, and the Cobblers boss is hoping this could be the start of a successful career for the 18 year old.
“I was pleased for Shaun, he made an impact in the game and as a manager that’s what you hope for,” he said.
“Hopefully he will remember his debut fondly and I believe that there is more to come from him but this is where the hard work really begins.
“I like to see home-grown players coming through but they have got to be good enough.
“There is a lot of promise in the players we’ve got coming through but we will only offer players a professional contract if we believe that they are good enough and we feel they’ve got a chance.”