Northampton Town terminate contract of defender Charles

The former Aldershot and Barnet man, who can play at centre-back and at left-back, spent almost a year at Sixfields and made 20 appearances.

“I think it is right to be honest with people,” said manager Aidy Boothroyd, who signed Clarke Carlisle permanently earlier this month and has another defender, David Artell, available for selection after injury.

“While Anthony has never let us down, being honest with him he was going to find first team opportunities limited moving forward and he was not going to be offered a new contract here in the summer.

“With that in mind it was felt best that he moved on and he will hopefully get to play more regularly elsewhere. I also feel we are top heavy on defenders and we need to look to strengthen further up the pitch.

“We wish Anthony well.”

Meanwhile, the Sixfields pitch is said to be ‘bearing up well’ under the frost covers ahead of Saturday’s game against Burton Albio (3pm kick-off).

The covers have kept out the cold weather so far, and a check on Thursday morning showed that the pitch is soft and perfectly playable.

The club will continue to monitor the pitch and weather conditions in the build up to the weekend.

Snow is forecast on Friday, and it is possible that the club may need volunteers on Saturday morning to help clear the pitch and surrounds should that forecast be accurate.

Supporters should please keep checking ntfc.co.uk or the club’s official Twitter feed and Facebook pages for details of any appeal for help.