Curle felt 'nervous' when he watched the play-off final back - despite knowing the score!

He may have known what was about to unfold but Keith Curle admitted he felt 'nervous' when re-watching Monday's play-off final against Exeter City.

Curle masterminded a superb victory for the Cobblers as they ran riot at Wembley, winning 4-0 through goals from Ryan Watson, Callum Morton, Sam Hoskins and Andy Williams.

Curle celebrated in his own unique style and didn't waste any time in watching the whole game back again.

Reflecting on the night a few days later, Curle said: "True to my word, I went home and had a hot chocolate! I also managed to sneak the trophy home with me because we left Wembley and they had the trophy box and I thought 'I'm having that!'

"They put the empty trophy cabinet at the bottom of the bus and I took the trophy home with me and had a hot chocolate and put the game on again.

"I watched it right from the beginning so I saw what everybody else saw and even when the whistle went to start the game, I was nervous - and I knew the score!

"But it was that nervous anticipation because I wanted to see us play the game and win the game and then see the celebrations afterwards.

"Because when you're there celebrating yourself, you don't see how everybody else is celebrating. But I've got to say, I'm very proud of how the players conducted themselves in terms of the celebrations because they showed everybody exactly what it means to them to be part of Northampton Town Football Club.

"They did themselves credit on the pitch during the game and also afterwards."

Asked if he noticed anything different when watching the game back, Curle added: "The details are completely different because it happens so quickly but overall, with some of the triggers and the fundamentals we had been working on in training, it's good to be able to see it being replicated at game speed.

"When you see the ball go into certain areas, you know who's going to be closing it down and you know who's got to be there and I think we got our timings, our distances and our numbers right."

Curle also spoke of his 'immense pride' at representing the Cobblers at Wembley, adding: "As players and staff, we're immensely proud to play for this club and to play for the owners and the chairman and, massively, the supporters because they have a huge role and they're a big part of what we do.

"We're proud to represent them. The atmosphere was surreal and I sympathise with supporters who couldn't be there, but our focus was on representing them and sticking to our beliefs."