'Awesome' Saints support meant so much to Mitchell and his family

And you can guarantee his family will get the same feeling of joy they experienced when watching him make his long-awaited return to action late last month.

A neck injury had sidelined Mitchell since pre-season, meaning he had to wait until the home fixture against Gloucester on November 30 to play for his club for the first time since scoring the winning try in June’s Gallagher Premiership final.

So when Mitchell returned, the jubilation could be felt, and heard, all around the Gardens.

The England scrum-half was roared onto the field and though he couldn't quite engineer a second-half comeback for Saints, he looked like he'd never been away, producing a typically razor-sharp showing.

And Mitchell says the ovation he received when running onto the field meant so much to him and his family.

"It was awesome, fantastic for me," the 27-year-old said.

"I was obviously trying to focus on the game but the fans really appreciated me coming on, which was amazing!

"I think my parents loved it even more than me – and my nan was very emotional when she saw it on the TV.

"It's obviously fantastic to hear the fans respect you and that's obviously one thing you always want.

"Coming on anyway, the adrenaline is going, but to get that extra boost from the crowd obviously helped me a lot.

"It got me focused in the game and got that adrenaline spike going.

"I loved the whole experience.

"It ended up being three or four months out so I loved every minute of that first game back."

Mitchell has since started in European clashes with Castres and Vodacom Bulls.

And it's no coincidence that Saints have looked back to the levels of last season in those matches, bagging bonus-point successes in both.

"It's been a long time coming and good to finally be back out there," Mitchell said.

"It was frustrating and you never want to be on the touchline watching so it was good to finally be back out there.

"I was a bit worried about my fitness in that first game back and you're always going to be blowing, but it was good to be back out there with the lads and trying to impact the team whenever I can.

"I went away with England for the New Zealand tour in the summer and it was weird not being out on the field for Saints for so long.

"You need some time to get the fitness back but it comes back quickly.

"The staff and the physio department have been amazing with me to get my fitness back up there, and my confidence is back up there.

"I've done it for a few years and it was really good to be back.

"I try to take the positives in that even though I've been out, I've got fresh legs and I haven't got a lot of games under me.

"I'm feeling in a really good place because I'm fit, I'm confident and you've got to take the positives.

"It's just about getting that game spark back but I've loved it."

Mitchell will look to steer Saints past Saracens as they return to Premiership action at StoneX Stadium on Sunday.

And they can take huge confidence from their performance in South Africa last Saturday as they beat the Bulls 30-21 with a showing packed with substance and style.

"Beating Castres was great but going to the Bulls, it was a massive privilege to do that because not many teams get to do that," Mitchell said.

"For me, playing at altitude in that weather, I love new experiences because you can play sides in the Premiership week in, week out but the trip in European competition was a whole new thing.

"It was fantastic and to turn them over, only two teams have done that in the last few years, so that win really topped it off."

Alex Mitchell was speaking at the cinch Store in Northampton, where Saints players were wrapping presents for fans and raising money for the Northampton Saints Foundation.