Curle felt the time was right to hand Anderson his first start

Anderson played the final 10 minutes against Salford City last weekend, 24 hours after signing a short-term contract, before he was an unused substitute in the midweek triumph at Carlisle United.

Expected to largely stick with the same side that won at Brunton Park, Curle made the surprise call to start Anderson at wing-back against Cambridge United.

But the manager's decision was justified as the 31-year-old formed part of another strong team performance in a 2-0 victory.

"I think he did well," said Curle. "He was slightly nervous and desperate to get back in but he's come in and been training with us for a while.

"You can tell that now he's settled in he has upped his levels again. When he first came in he was not so much tentative but he was obviously mindful of his body and the fact he hadn't been at the tempo and training levels.

"He was feeling his way back in but as soon as he agreed the contract we found another yard out of him and in my opinion it was the right time to play him on Saturday.

"He had that enthusiasm about him. He wants to come in, he wants to do well and he wants to impress and the timing of him starting on Saturday was key."

Saturday's win was Town's third in a row, the first time they've strung together such a run this season.

Curle added: "We were one of the teams that didn't have three or four wins in a row but it's achievable in this division when the basics are done well.

"That's because I think we've got players here who can score goals from open play and we've got players who can score goals from set-pieces.

"When we do the basics and we play to our strengths in the opposition's half, we can cause any team in this division problems."