Bring on the play-offs! Curle says Cobblers can't wait for promotion chance

Cobblers boss Keith Curle says his players cannot wait to get stuck into the play-offs and take their shot at promotion ahead of next week's meeting with Cheltenham Town.

After months of discussions, disagreements and delays, the League Two play-offs were formally ratified by the EFL earlier this week, ramping up excitement levels within the Town camp and among supporters.

Cobblers are to take on Cheltenham, who finished fourth under the points-per-game method adopted by the EFL, over two legs in the semi-finals, first at the PTS Academy Stadium next Thursday (June 18) and then again at Whaddon Road on June 22.

Cheltenham held the edge over the two league meetings earlier in the season, winning one and drawing the other, but both sides go into the play-off clash having not played for over three months.

“It’s very pleasing to get it confirmed and I think everybody needed that clarification because the possibility of it has been going on for a while,” admitted Curle.

“To get it ratified was great news and now we know a definite time and date for the players to prepare towards and we’re all looking forward to it.

“We’ve had to create a new normal at the club but the information, the clarity and the transparency, all the way from the top through to the supporters, has been credit to the club and it’s been very helpful.

"We've had all the information we've needed and everyone has been able to understand their roles within the process and I think that has been massively important, especially for the players."

Town’s squad only returned to training last Monday but Curle is confident they will be as ready as they can be for the play-offs.

He added: “The players won’t be ready for a full season because we haven’t had a proper pre-season but we’re preparing for a mini-tournament and that’s where we’re trying to get the balance right between the physical, technical and tactical elements of training.

“The best way to get fit for football is to play football but everything is monitored now - the distance the players cover, the intensity they work at and their workload.

“We’ve had some very pleasing results from the players from day one when they first came back in and they’ve shown excellent progression since.

“We now need to get them up to full speed in time but it’s not a marathon any more, it’s a sprint. We know we have to hit the ground running on Thursday and then we’ll be ready to go again and hopefully it leads to another game.”