Curle reveals Fleetwood pipped Cobblers to 'a couple of players' in the summer

Keith Curle has revealed Fleetwood Town beat the Cobblers to a couple of his transfer targets in the summer ahead of tonight's League One fixture between the two clubs.

Fleetwood, who allowed Jack Sowerby to leave for Northampton at the end of the transfer window, had a busy summer with Sam Finley, Callum Camps, Jordan Rossiter and Mark Duffy among 12 players signed by manager Joey Barton.

After losing out in the play-offs last season, the Cod Army made a slow start to the current campaign but have picked up since, winning six and losing only two of their past 10 league matches to sit seventh in the table.

"I thought Fleetwood did very well against Sunderland on Friday night," said Curle. "They were probably a bit unlucky to go behind but they've got some very good players and they're able to rotate and change their formations within matches, which is an added bonus.

"It's a strong and competitive squad and they did very well last season. They might be disappointed with their performance in the first semi-final of the play-offs but those are one-off games and anything can happen, as we well know.

"They're playing with a higher tempo and a higher press this season and they're very energetic and get on the front foot very well so it's a very good test for us."

Fleetwood might go under the radar given the size of other clubs in League One but Curle will not be underestimating them this evening.

"For them to get into this division and establish themselves in this division is credit to how the club is run and how well organised they are," he added. "If you look at their recruitment policy and the players they've brought in, they've got an abundance of talent and experience all over the pitch.

"They've got a couple of players that we enquired about but we weren't at that level. It's a very competitive squad."

Curle confirmed he has no fresh injuries for tomorrow's game against Fleetwood. "The usual suspects - Scotty Pollock, Millsy and Joe Nuttall - are still unavailable but otherwise we've got a clean bill of health."