Curle urges players and fans to have 'trust' in Cobblers' high-risk corner ploy

Curle has taken a bold approach to attacking corners throughout his time in charge of the Cobblers having regularly sent every man forward, either in or around the opposition penalty box.

It's a tactic that has helped Town score a bulk of their goals from set-pieces this season, but it can also leave them vulnerable to the counter-attack and Sol Campbell looked to exploit that potential weakness on Friday when leaving two men against Northampton's one on the halfway line.

That caused a few jitters among home fans and it almost paid off too when Elliott Durrell led a breakaway, however his overhit pass allowed the Cobblers to get back and clear the danger.

Despite that scare though, Curle persevered with sending almost every man forward for all of his side's five corners, even when they had the lead at 2-1 during the second-half.

"I was disappointed with some of the set-pieces," Curle said. "The first one we had, I know there was some unrest because they left two up, but what people have to realise is that we have the ball and we have extra men in their box.

"We had a routine set up but it didn't come off because players didn't trust in what we've been working on and that's what I said to them at half-time - trust in what we've worked on.

"I think it's something like 40 per cent of our goals have come from set-pieces so pay attention to them, trust them and when you get an opportunity to deliver the ball, deliver it.

"We've had it before earlier in the season when we played Crawley and they left three up from our corner. You have to trust in the process and believe in the process.

"We are vulnerable if the routine doesn't work out but ultimately we've got the ball, we have extra men in the box so if a team wants to leave three up then we'll have two men spare in the box and they've got to be brave to do that and trust their defenders to deal with it."