The former Hibs boss has also been in the dugout at sides like Nottingham Forest.

A former Hibs and Nottingham Forest boss is back in management after a sacking at an English Football League club.

Northampton Town have moved on from ex West Ham United and Newcastle United midfielder Kevin Nolan, currently sitting 23rd in League One, and the Cobblers are three points from safety. They have scored just 31 goals in 36 matches which is the second lowest total in the third tier of English football, and they have now decided to axe Nolan.

As the former West Ham and Newcastle man goes, Colin Calderwood has stepped into the interim manager void, having been working at Northampton as their technical director. He managed Hibs between 2010-2011 but started his dugout career in England at the Cobblers, earning him a chance with Nottingham Forest.

Who is the manager of Northampton Town?

Calderwood has since managed Cambridge United and coached at a variety of clubs in England, now at the Northampton helm for Saturday’s match with Burton Albion. Chairman Kelvin Thomas said: “We are sorry to have to take this decision, but unfortunately as we all know, football is very results based.

“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 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. Kevin leaves with our thanks and our best wishes and we wish him well for the future.”

Why did Colin Calderwood return to Northampton Town?

Speaking last year upon his return to Sixfields, Calderwood said: “I am really pleased to be back. The role here really appeals to me on a number of levels and while I will be out on the training ground initially, I will transition more and more towards the Technical Director role as we move forward and I have been taking my qualifications with that in mind.

“My overriding priority is to support Kevin Nolan at all times and that is very important. I know Kevin well, I have been really impressed with him both as a person and a manager and he is someone who has been on a really good learning curve as a coach and a manager at different levels of the game. I feel I can help with the club’s progress in the short, medium and longer term.

“Hopefully I can bring my experience and contacts and the knowledge I have picked up over my career to help a really talented coaching staff in Ian Sampson, Marc Richards and James Alger in their development too. As everyone will know, I have a lot of affection for the club and I am really pleased to be back.”