Curle believes it's no coincidence that Cobblers are yet to be hit by COVID outbreak

Jonathan Mitchell has his temperature taken.

Cobblers boss Keith Curle believes it's no coincidence that the club are yet to be seriously hit by an outbreak of coronavirus cases this season.

Northampton are one of a decreasing minority of League One clubs to avoid having to postpone fixtures this season, with Shrewsbury Town the latest to return a flurry of positive results.

Hull City, Doncaster Rovers, Peterborough United, Ipswich Town, Accrington Stanley, Sunderland, Bristol Rovers, Rochdale, Wigan Athletic and Burton Albion have all had to call games off due to COVID.

The EFL confirmed on Wednesday that they will introduce testing twice a week from next Monday in a bid to get a grip on the situation.

Whilst an element of good fortune is involved, Curle believes the strict protocols in place at Northampton and the adherence of staff and players has limited the risk of an outbreak.

He said: "Credit has got to go to the medical department with the physio and the club doctor but also the structure that has been put in place behind the scenes with James Whiting.

"As you can imagine there's a minefield of information coming out regarding restrictions and the best protocols that should be in place.

"What the club have done very well is they have diluted it down to the players and put it into format that makes it very easy to understand and to follow and the players deserve credit.

"They have adhered to the restrictions and that's not only inside our bubble but also outside because they've understood the importance of the guidelines and why they're there."