Curle: I take the blame for Cobblers' poor form, not the players

Keith Curle says the blame lies with him and not the players for Cobblers' recent poor run of form.

Town have a solitary victory from their past six matches in all competitions, a run that includes their shock defeat to Oxford City in the FA Cup.

Defeat to Accrington Stanley on Saturday leaves the Cobblers hovering just outside the drop zone at the bottom of League One.

"Winning or losing, we need to be improving and developing and part of that is taking onboard criticism," said Curle. "When players play well and the team wins a game, it's all them.

"When things don't go well, when players don't play well and when we get negative results, that's all on me. I've got broad shoulders and I take it because that's my job, but I manage the environment and it's making sure I make the right decisions.

"That's about creating a positive environment where players go out without fear. Don't go out thinking 'I can't do this, I can't do that' - I want players to go out and express themselves."

Tuesday's visit of Stevenage in the EFL Trophy brings a much-needed change of focus for the Cobblers. Victory over the League Two side, either in the 90 minutes or on penalties, would take them through to the knockout stages of the competition.

Curle added: "Tuesday night will be an opportunity to harness some of the things that we are working on in training for the league campaign because there's no better place to practice than on the pitch in a competitive game.

"That's what we will use the game for, putting down fundamentals within the group to make sure we're all up to speed and we know what's required and when it's required because those things don't change.

"It'll be a chance for players to step up and impress and stake a claim for the next game. Stevenage weren't where they wanted to be last season but this season is a chance to rebuild and start again and they'll be very competitive."