Flexible Curle could change formation

A three-man defence of Jordan Turnbull, Scott Wharton and captain Charlie Goode has become the norm for Northampton ever since they won 2-0 away at Carlisle United in October.

Goalless at half-time, Curle switched to 3-5-2 for the second period against his old club and has not looked back since goals from Scott Pollock and Sam Hoskins handed them victory at Brunton Park.

But with opposition teams finding ways to counter Town's system, and with other options at his disposal, Curle is happy to change should he see fit.

He said: "I think we're on course at the moment but some players have still got improvements to make and there's some that haven't got enough game-time.

"Sometimes that can be to do with the change of formation that we've settled on now because we've got three full-backs in the building but we're playing with wing-backs.

"But over the second half of the season, there's still room for us to revert to another formation."

Curle's also happy to see goals scored from all over the pitch, though he believes his midfielders can chip in with more.

He added: "At the minute we don't have a 20, 25 goal striker in the building but that's good in one way because the goals are being spread around and every time we go forward and when we put balls in the box, we've got people that want to get on the end of it.

"Midfielders need to chip in more but that's something else we're working on and they're doing a good job of protecting the back three and the goal.

"A large percentage of goals are coming from set-pieces but it is part of the game and we know we're a threat"