Boss Mallinder in strongest position since joining Saints

Saints have made a number of re-signings in recent weeks, with five forwards agreeing deals last week and five backs - Ben Foden, Luther Burrell, Lee Dickson, Jamie Elliott and Ken Pisi - also staying on.

With Northampton enjoying a successful season, the emphasis has been on retaining the majority of the squad ahead of next season.

And Mallinder said: “It’s fantastic. We think we’ve got a very good squad and we want to keep as many of those players as we can. That comes first.

“You don’t start looking outside, you start retaining your best players and that’s what we’ve done. To do that before Christmas is a big statement and it shows not just where we’re going to be for the rest of this season but where we’re going to be next season as well and it’s great for our planning moving forward.

“I’ve never been in a situation like this, where the majority of our squad have already committed to being here next season.

“We’ve got to make sure that’s not a down side, we’ve got to make sure complacency doesn’t creep in.

“We’ve all got to be hungry, but I’m pretty confident we are hungry for success.”