In football, as in life, the old adage that 'a change is as good as a rest' often rings true.

Players can often find a new lease of life, or rekindle their spark within fresh surroundings, and that is exactly what rampaging Dave Savage is hoping to do following his £80,000 move from Millwall's New Den to Northampton Town's new Sixfields Stadium last month.

The 6ft 2in Dublin-born central midfielder made an impressive start to his Millwall career after signing from Longford Town, and became a reliable performer.

In four full seasons with The Lions, Savage made 130 appearances up to the end of the last campaign, with his hard tackling, strong running style earning him Eire Under-21 honours and five full international caps.

But with Millwall's current season blowing hot and cold, Savage found himself unable to nail down a starting role as his own form drifted.

With Northampton struggling this term after being beaten in the play-off final by Grimsby Town last season, Cobblers' boss Ian Atkins felt the need to pep up his team's midfield - and the zestful Savage, 25, was seen as the man for the job.

Although troubled by an ankle injury, Savage has now played seven games for the Cobblers, improving all the time and taking the man-of-the-match vote on his last two appearances.

He has already forged a useful midfield force with Roy Hunter and Sean Parrish, but Atkins is eager for the revitalised Savage to make strides in the goalscoring department of his game.

Savage notched just six goals in his time at Millwall, but with his height and strength should certainly be capable of netting more.

And with Atkins encouraging him to get forward into the opponents' box more, Savage went agonisingly close to opening his account for the Cobblers with a late effort in their 1-0 home defeat by Reading last Saturday.

Savage's task is to help haul his new team away from the relegation zone with performances that will get his international career back on track.

And if both aims are achieved, Savage's Sixfields switch will certainly have been a change for the better.

MATCH POINTS

York City v Northampton

Nationwide League division two (at Bootham Crsescent, tomorrow 3pm)

Town have made 17 past league visits, winning five times and drawing on four occasions.

City's biggest home victories over the Cobblers were 4-1 in 1970-1, 5-2 in 1982-3 and 3-0 in 1983-4.

Town's biggest wins at York were 4-1 in 1976-7 and 3-0 in 1977-8. Their last victory here was 1-0 in 1990-1

The match between the clubs on the last day of the 1980-1 campaign was watched by the smallest crowd (1,167) to see a league game at Bootham Crescent.

The corresponding match last term ended 0-0.

Players who have represented both teams include 'keepers Peter Pickering and Gordon Morritt, defenders John Mackin, Steve Senior, Graham Carr and Ray Warburton, and forwards David Longhurst and Neil Grayson.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.