Curle tells Cobblers to be less 'honest' to avoid opposition players 'mugging off' referees

Manager Keith Curle believes opposition teams are using Cobblers' 'physical' reputation to 'con' referees following several controversial decisions that have gone against his side in recent games.

Hull City's second goal in their 2-0 win at the PTS last week came following a soft free-kick awarded against Ryan Watson, and Curle was quick to hit out at the away side's 'squealing' after full-time.

Curle was again frustrated following Saturday's defeat to Bristol Rovers as he called into question the decision to send off Joe Martin just moments after Cian Bolger had conceded a 'cheap' penalty.

"At 0-0 there was nothing in the game but then the penalty and a sending off changes everything," said Curle. "We don't need to be as honest as we are.

"We've got a reputation of being a physical and combative team and we're very competitive and I think a lot of teams will use that to their advantage and they'll go down squealing and rolling round and they'll con referees. And because referees don't have the game understanding, they get mugged off by it.

"It's part and parcel of the game. I got on with referees very well when I played because I used to talk to them all the time but nowadays I've found I'm better off not talking to them and not giving them my opinion."

Curle did not hide away from his side's shortcomings in their defeat to Rovers, though, and conceded they need to be much better as an attacking force.

"I don't think we caused them enough problems," he admitted. "We had a free-kick in the second-half and there were also a few examples in the first-half where we could have put balls into the box but didn't.

"Joe Martin has one of the best left foots in this division but there was one moment in the first-half where he had a chance to cross the ball into the box and instead decided to pass the ball for Christopher Missilou to cross with his left foot.

"I want Joe to back himself. If I had his left foot, I would be putting crosses into the box. We need to do more of that and we need to have better understanding.

"When we got entries in the final third, we didn't retain possession of the ball and we didn't set the ball back for somebody with good appreciation of what they need. Passes in the final third are massively important because it keeps the momentum of the attack."