Curle 'not surprised' by Forest Green's lofty league position

Forest Green's excellent start to the season has come as no surprise to Cobblers boss Keith Curle ahead of this afternoon's meeting at the PTS Academy Stadium.
Keith CurleKeith Curle
Keith Curle

Rovers narrowly missed out on promotion last season when they finished fifth and then fell short in the play-offs, losing out to eventual winners Tranmere Rovers in the semi-final.

But Mark Cooper's side haven't let that disappointment seep into the current campaign and they were top of the table as little as a month ago, although have since dropped to third.

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"I'm not surprised," said Curle. "I think Mark has had a few years now to cement his philosophy of how he wants to play and he's been able to bring in personnel that suits his philosophy.

"That always helps and that's what you get with longevity. The longer you're at a football club, the more you're able to introduce players into your philosophy.

"I've got a lot of time and a lot of respect for Mark and how he wants to play the game and gain points. Ultimately, he wants success and that's the same for all coaches."

Looking ahead to today's clash, Curle added: "We've got areas we need and we want to express ourselves and that's the same format regardless of who we're playing because every team in this division has strengths and weaknesses.

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"We need to make sure we have a gameplan to nullify that but it's also about how many times we can get into the opposition's third, how many times can we put the ball in the box and how many people can we get arriving in the box at the same time as the ball."