'Disillusioned' fringe players must wait for their chance - Curle

Keith Curle says every player will be given an opportunity to stake their claim over the next two months when Cobblers squeeze 13 matches into just eight weeks.

Even without several players due to injury, Curle still had the luxury of leaving out the likes of Ricky Korboa, Chris Lines, Joe Martin and Shaun McWilliams from the squad that faced MK Dons on Tuesday.

Alan Sheehan and Ricky Holmes have both recently joined the club on short-term deals while Joseph Mills, Scott Pollock and Blackpool loanee Joe Nuttall are long-term absentees.

Curle will need all of his squad going into this next rush of fixtures, and Monday's FA Cup tie at Oxford City could provide some fringe players with an opportunity to force their way back into his plans

“It’s nice to have so many options,” said Curle. “It makes my job difficult in some respects but players know that I’ve got an open-door policy and I will have to deal with some players that are angry, frustrated, disappointed and even disillusioned to a degree.

“My job is to be there to be a soundboard for them and tell them what they need to do to get in the team and get in the squad, but the fact is I can only pick 18 players on a matchday and they have plenty of opportunity and plenty of time to impress.

“There’s work to be done, individually and collectively, with all the players. Nobody is cast aside because we know we’ve got good players and we’ve got a competitive squad and if someone lowers their standards, the likelihood is they’ll be knocking on my door asking why they’re not in the side.

“They’ll get the honest truth from me. Sometimes it’s tactical, sometimes it’s a case of how I see the game panning out because there are no guaranteed starters for the next game.”

Nicky Adams, who made his 600th carer appearance at the weekend and was only on the bench against MK Dons, is one of those players who has been in and out of the team.

“Tuesday was an example because I left Nicky Adams out of the starting line-up,” added Curle. “He wants to play every minute of every game and he wants to put the shirt on for Northampton Town.

“He’s the first one to come banging on my door – ‘why am I not playing?’ – but I’m mindful of the fact that I need Nicky available for the next 13 games over a two month period.”