Largely unknown outside football circles at the time, Boothroyd was handed the task of keeping the Hornets in the Championship when he took over from Ray Lewington in March 2005.
Just over a year later Watford were celebrating a play-off final win against Leeds and a shock return to the top-flight of English football which earned their manager a reputation as one of the brightest young talents in the game.
His initial brief at Northampton was similar, to keep the Cobblers safe in their division before looking to stamp his own mark on the squad he had inherited.
And although Boothroyd has been keen to stress that a mid-table finish next season would represent progress, his ambitions will lie higher up the League Two table than that.