Curle says Cobblers have 'answered a few questions' after consecutive wins

Curle and his players came in for heavy criticism after their recent 3-0 loss at Scunthorpe United, which followed an equally disappointing home defeat to Leyton Orient.

Those results left Town struggling down in 18th in Sky Bet League Two and caused unrest among frustrated supporters, however Curle could not have asked for a better response since.

They beat Salford 2-0 on Saturday and then returned from their long trip to Carlisle three days later with another victory thanks to second-half goals from Scott Pollock and Sam Hoskins, lifting them to ninth place and within three points of the top seven.

"I think we've answered a few questions because there were questions posed to the players," said Curle.

"The goals we conceded (against Scunthorpe) were disappointing but on Tuesday we were brave in our defending and solid in our defending and we made good decisions.

"We needed people in the right places and we needed a goalkeeper to be on form and make the saves he needed to make and show good hands."

Curle is no stranger to pressure but he earned plenty of praise on Tuesday when his decision to replace defender Michael Harriman with striker Harry Smith at half-time changed the course of the game and led to Town's well-deserved victory.

He also made the bold call to go with Pollock and Shaun McWilliams in central midfield, leaving the experienced Chris Lines on the bench.

He added: "The substitutes all had an impact but I get paid the big bucks to make the decisions and when they go right I put all the praise on the players that make those decisions work.

"Likewise, I'm big enough that when things don't work, I take the blame and I take responsibility, but what I won't do is shy from making decisions that I think are the right ones."