Chris Hogg is expected to be announced as Northampton Town's new boss, taking charge at Sixfields after the club finished bottom of League One and prepared for life in League Two. The 41-year-old is set for his first senior management job after stepping into the vacancy left by Kevin Nolan, who departed in early March and was replaced in the interim by Colin Calderwood.

Hogg has spent much of his coaching career alongside Liam Manning, and that close working relationship has shaped nearly every major move he has made since turning to coaching in 2015. He began in Ipswich Town's academy, worked with the under-18s and under-23s, and later served as first-team coach under Paul Lambert before a spell of 18 months in charge of Newcastle United's under-23s.

His link with Manning deepened when he was appointed assistant at Milton Keynes Dons in August 2021. Together they led MK Dons to third in League One in their first season, only to fall to Wycombe Wanderers in the play-off semi-final, before both were dismissed in December 2022. A few months later Hogg followed Manning to Oxford United, then moved again when the pair were poached by Bristol City in November 2023.

That run included an 11th-place finish in their opening campaign at Ashton Gate and, in the 2024/25 season, Bristol City's first Championship play-off place in 17 years. Their bid ended with a heavy semi-final loss to Sheffield United. Manning was later appointed by Norwich City in place of Johannes Hoff Thorup and Hogg went with him to Norfolk, but he spent only six months at Carrow Road before leaving in November 2025.

For Northampton, the appointment would hand the club a manager whose background is rooted more in coaching development than in senior dugout experience, but whose record with Manning shows a capacity to help build teams that improve quickly and compete above expectations. It also arrives with an extra layer of local familiarity: Hogg is the son-in-law of Town legend George Burley, a connection that will not be lost on supporters as the club tries to reset after a difficult season.

The timing matters because Northampton are trying to move fast after Nolan's exit and because the club needs a clear plan before the new League Two campaign begins. Hogg's next step, if confirmed, is straightforward and unforgiving: turn a first senior role into a revival at a club coming off the bottom of the table.