Chairman Thomas believes Curle has done an 'excellent job' at Cobblers

Curle took over in October 2018 when the Cobblers were at their lowest ebb for several years, languishing 22nd in Sky Bet League Two with just seven points from 10 games, narrowly above the bottom two.

Town have 22 wins and returned 85 points from the 55 league games they've played since Curle replaced Dean Austin, third only to Forest Green Rovers (93) and Crewe Alexandra (91) during the same period.

Curle still splits opinion among supporters despite that impressive record though, with some yet to be convinced he has done enough to earn a new contract at the end of the current season.

But, barring a particularly poor finish to the campaign, Thomas seems set to hand his manager a new deal having been impressed by the work he's carried out at the club.

"We're pleased with what he's done," said Thomas. "I think we were 22nd when he came in and it was a real tough time for the club.

"I think we had one win in 10 games and he took on a squad of players that was underperforming and had some high earners in it after coming down from League One.

"They probably weren't as motivated but Keith has completely revamped that over the course of the time he's been here and I think he's done a better job than he gets credit for sometimes.

"But from the club's perspective, he's done an excellent job. Obviously I've got to be careful because we'll be negotiating contracts so I can't say he's done that good a job!

"But, realistically, I think he has. He's changed the mentality of the group and that's something we asked him to do."

Curle has overseen a major overhaul of the playing squad during his time in charge, with almost 20 players signed over the past 12 months.

"I wouldn't say he needed to change the professionalism but I would say there was a bit of sloppiness beforehand and he's come in and changed the players and done that effectively in financial terms," Thomas added.

"We're happy with how Keith's approached things, his recruitment and the professionalism in terms of how we go about things now from the playing department so we're all quite relaxed about the situation."