Curle admits Cobblers resources are being 'tested' due to pandemic and loss of 'big players'

Cobblers boss Keith Curle admits the club's resources are being stretched to the limit this season due to a combination of the coronavirus pandemic and the fact that so many of last year's promotion-winning squad departed in the summer.

Town's tough start to life back in League One continued on Saturday when they were beaten 1-0 by Accrington Stanley, leaving them 19th in the division having played more games than nearly every other team in the bottom half.

Cobblers, like many clubs across the country, have been hit hard by the pandemic. Ticket sales are a major source of income for lower league teams but there looks to be no end in sight for the current ban on supporters being allowed into grounds.

With so many key players from last season also departing the club for various reasons, Curle had to rebuild his squad on a reduced budget in the summer, and it seems the realities of competing in a high-quality League One are now hitting home.

"There are a few clubs in the division whose resources are going to be tested in the current situation and we're no different," Curle admitted following Saturday's defeat.

"We've come up a division and we've lost some big players. We sold Charlie (Goode), other players have moved on and some went back after being on loan and now we're bringing together a new squad that's adjusting to a new level.

"What you've got to do is stick together and stay on the upward curve that we were on following promotion. We're putting down new fundamentals with a new squad and we're playing against better teams, but we accept the challenges that come our way.

"Take the goal out of Saturday's game and I think we gave as good as them and we looked as capable of them. They had better ball mastery in the final third but that will come for us and it's a work in progress."

Club captain Nicky Adams, one of few players to still be at the club from last season, also believes it is important to remain patient.

He said: "We're a quarter of the way through the season and it's been a funny one so far. We've put in some real good performances and some not so good performances so we just need to get that balance - and we will.

"We're still learning and we've got a lot of new players who have not played at this level before. Everyone is giving 100 per cent, you can't knock that, and things will turn for us. You win a couple of games and suddenly everything changes.

"We lost a lot of players last year so new players have come in and some are not experienced at this level but we'll stay together. We knew it would be difficult and there wouldn't be any easy games.

"A lot of teams are very good and they've been at this level for a while. They're a bit more savvy than us but we're a good group and we'll turn a corner. There's a long way to go. We were favourites to go down before the season and we're in a dogfight, but we're up for it."