Curle reveals why Cobblers chose to bring forward Portsmouth tie

The game was originally scheduled to take place on Wednesday to allow the Cobblers sufficient time to rest after their FA Cup clash with Notts County on Sunday.

But Curle was keen for it to be brought forward by 24 hours so his players would have an extra day to prepare for this weekend's league trip to Exeter City.

What's more, with the tie at Fratton Park taking place on Tuesday, Curle will also be able to watch Saturday's opponents in action when they host Oxford United in the Leasing.com Trophy on Wednesday.

"It'll be a good test on Saturday," said Curle. "Myself and Colin (West) are staying down overnight because Exeter are playing on Wednesday and we'll go down there to watch their game.

"Some people might have raised a few eyebrows when our game was scheduled for Tuesday but we actually brought the game forward from the Wednesday to the Tuesday.

"That was because we wanted to make sure the players who played against Portsmouth had another 24 hours rest in them ahead of the weekend.

"We'll go to Exeter on Saturday and we will be competitive."

Joe Martin is Curle's only injury concern from the defeat on Tuesday after he was forced off with a head injury.

"It shows the commitment we've got in the group," added Curle. "He didn't even see the whack coming but he took one to the head and he'll have a nice shiner tomorrow but he's a strong boy.

"It was disappointing for him to have come off because he was getting important minutes into him."