Curle not panicking but admits Cobblers 'need a win' after poor run

Cobblers boss Keith Curle does not yet see the need to sound the alarm bells despite admitting his side 'need a win' after four successive league defeats.

Town host Swindon Town at the PTS tonight following consecutive defeats to Hull, Bristol Rovers, Peterborough and Plymouth, a run which has left them in the League One relegation zone six games into the season.

"We need a win," admitted Curle. "We get that win and the league table changes and the mentality changes but we don't shy away from the fact we haven't got the results we want.

"But we've been competitive in every game and we're learning all the time. There were times on Saturday where, had we won the last three games, we might have showed a little bit more arrogance.

"But you're asking players to be arrogant when you haven't got the results and then it's down to myself to make sure the confidence levels are still there."

Curle tinkered with his system at the weekend and selected a front three of Sam Hoskins, Ricky Korboa and Danny Rose, but he was giving little away when asked if he'd stick with the same approach against Swindon.

"We've got a squad of players," he added. "People can get hung up and carried away with formations but if you take a snapshot within a game, it can be difficult to say what formation you're playing.

"Sometimes it's five at the back, sometimes it's four, sometimes it's three and sometimes it's two at the back because you're trying to get people forward when you've got possession.

"We don't get hung up on formations because we've got a squad that are very adaptable. We didn't have much time to work on the new shape but the players are very responsive and take onboard the information.

"They also ask questions. We give them certain scenarios and it's not a black and white game, which is the beauty of football. But we try to cover as many scenarios as we can.

"I thought the players adapted very well. We denied them areas that they wanted to work in and we frustrated them and we also caused them problems when we got the ball.

"Overall we've got a group of players that are receptive. No-one in the changing room knows the team for Swindon and none of the players know the shape but we'll work on it and we'll go out with a gameplan."