Curle has a warning for his squad after Anderson sits out Grimsby win

Curle has a wealth of options available to him now that key players are back from injury, with Alan McCormack starting at Grimsby Town on Saturday and striker Harry Smith also back in the squad.

James Olayinka is also on his way back and should be in the frame for selection against Mansfield Town on Saturday.

Midfielder Paul Anderson, who was a influential member of the team only a few weeks ago, did not even make the squad at Grimsby and Curle confirmed there was no injury problem.

“It’s a reminder for everybody in the squad,” said Curle. “We’ve got competition for places here and it’s good competition.

“With that, when players get selected and go onto the field, they have to perform otherwise they risk losing the shirt.

“There’s strong competition and I have a changing room where I would feel comfortable with any one of them being in the starting line-up.”

It is inevitable that Curle will have some disappointed players over the coming weeks given the depth of his squad.

Anderson, Joe Martin and Reece Hall-Johnson didn’t make the 18 at Grimsby and that’s before Olayinka and Andy Williams return from injury.

Striker Smith is also back in the fold after two months out, leaving Curle with some serious headaches going into the final 10 games of the campaign.

“The pleasing thing is that we’ve got players coming back and I think the biggest headache I’m going to have is selecting an 18, let alone a starting XI,” he added.

“We saw at Grimsby that I’ve got some very, very good players not playing and managing the environment now is where I do my work.

“It’s not about the XI, it’s not about the 18, it’s about every single professional player that’s in the changing room because they all have a part to play.

“Whether that’s actual game-time or maintaining the high standards we’ve created here and making sure they fully understand what their roles are as professional footballers.

“Everybody wants to play and everybody in our changing room is capable of putting on the shirt and putting in a performance, which is what we’re trying to create.”