Curle reveals his reason for dropping 'unhappy' Cornell and starting Arnold at Crawley

Cornell started the first game of the season against Walsall but was replaced by summer signing Steve Arnold at Port Vale the following weekend.

However, a long-term injury to Arnold meant Cornell could re-establish himself as Town's number one and he looked to have nailed down the position after a string of good performances.

But he was partly at fault for Andy Cook's opening goal for Mansfield on Saturday and that prompted Curle to recall Arnold on Boxing Day.

"I was disappointed with the goal on Saturday," explained the Town boss. "I had a conversation with Dai and obviously he's not happy because he had kept a number of clean sheets previously.

"But I was disappointed with the goal we conceded at Mansfield and we needed to have a look at Arny.

"He made a couple of good saves and if anything, in his defence, you'd say he would be disappointed with the defenders in front of him.

"He stood up and made a few decent stops but it was disappointing for the first goal with the angle the shot was taken, but it was a creditable performance from him."

Arnold's return to the side was a miserable one though as he conceded four times in a thumping defeat to struggling Crawley.

"As a goalkeeper, your position is always up for grabs," he said afterwards. "I'm happy to be back in but at the same time we lost 4-0 so it's one of those things.

"As long as we can get a result at the end of the game, that's all that matters. Whoever's playing is playing, it doesn't matter."