Cobblers boss Curle furious as he questions players' 'fight' and 'character' in Oxford thrashing

The Cobblers boss kept his players locked in the changing room for almost 90 minutes following a wretched second-half performance at the Kassam Stadium.

After a goalless first-half, it all fell apart in the second as Matty Taylor scored twice to leave Town tottering one place above the League One relegation zone.

Curle said: "If it's a case of keeping them locked in the changing room to measure my disappointment, they'd be in there for a very long time.

"There was nowhere near enough fight out there.

"The first-half was a stalemate, both teams cancelling each other out, then a deflection on a cross gives them the first goal.

"After that, it was evident that we didn't have enough men on that pitch or enough fight or character on that pitch and that really disappoints me because that's not my team.

"I don't accept that. I can handle getting beat because that's the nature of the industry that we're in but there's a way to lose and that's not me and that's not my team.

"Having players out is not an excuse because that should be an opportunity for other players to step up but they didn't deliver."