Chairman Thomas confirms funds have been made available to Cobblers boss Curle

In the past few seasons. the January window has been a busy time at the PTS Academy Stadium, with successive new managers Justin Edinburgh, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Curle, all making the most of their first opportunities to bring players into the club.

That is not the situation this time around, and despite the club's coffers being handsomely boosted by Town's run to the fourth round of the FA Cup, Thomas says he and Curle can afford to be 'a bit more sensible'.

The fact the Cobblers are also already in pretty good shape in the league, with Curle having totally revamped the squad last summer, is another reason why the club can make sure they pick and choose the right targets this month

"We have gone through a period, where we spent a bit of money a couple of years ago and we didn't really achieve what we would have liked to, and the club suffered relegation, "said Thomas.

"That was after other investment as well, so we are definitely a bit more sensible in terms of that, and I think we have a very settled group.

"I have spoken to Keith and we do talk about players, will continue to talk about players and do have some targets and there are discussions, but there is not a need to rush into doing something.

"We have a good group of players that we saw on Sunday (against Burton) are together, and that is just as important as having additional players.

"It is all about identifying the right players, and we have told Keith there are some funds there to do something.

"In reality as we all know, in football, and this club is a loss-making entity, we are not talking about additional cup profit, we are talking about additional money coming in and there is a balance then to how much do you spend?

"There is also the fact you can get loan players, and there are arguments about whether loans work or don't work, but we have been lucky with Scott (Wharton) that it has worked very well for us.

"If you sign a player there are longer term commitments, and if you do go and sign somebody this window on a two-and-a-half year contract, then you might not get that cup revenue the following year.

"So it is about enyoying the cup revenue.

"It is a tough window, we all know that, and I think at times we have brought in too many players in this window in the past, and I think Keith is pretty comfortable with the discussions we have had."

Thomas was talking to ntfc.co.uk after taking part in the Cobblers supporters advisory panel meeting at the PTS on Thursday evening.

Several topics were discussed, including the latest update on the redevelopment of the east stand, with Thomas saying he shares the supporters' frustrations over how long things are taking.

"What we spoke about was how we share the frustration of me saying 'of it's another update, and we are making progress'," admitted the Town chairman.

"Even the Supporters Trust have had communication with the council this week, and the council have said the same thing, that there is progress.

"It is tough for a council, because they do have to have more checks and balances, and the news about how much money they have spent trying to recover the money doesn't necessarily help, because that adds another pressure.

"The key is that we are talking to officers, and the officers then have to go and talk to the members, and the members have ideas, etc, etc.

"But we have made our offers and we are continuing that dialogue.

"We are progressing matters, but is it a speed we want? No. Is it at a speed the council would want? Probably not. And is it at a speed thr fans want? Absolutely not.

"So we will keep going in the direction we want to go in, and we are making progress.

"I know people will say 'that's what you always say', but it is slow progress, which is progress all the same."