Goode backing Curle to find more 'great characters' to ensure Cobblers will shine in league one

Goode was brought to the club by Curle last summer as part of a major overhaul of the Town squad.

Much of the old guard were shipped out as the Cobblers boss set about moulding the kind of squad he wanted, full of the characters he wanted, with plenty of new faces coming in the other way.

Goode was signed from Scunthorpe United, and then the likes of Nicky Adams, Alan McCormack, Ryan Watson, Steve Arnold and Scott Wharton were brought in, the latter on a season-long loan.

The squad Curle had inherited from a mixture of the management of Justin Edinburgh, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Dean Austin was more or less moved on, and in its place was a squad Curle was happy with.

"There will be many managers and players at the start of each season that say 'I want to sneak into the play-offs', or 'I want to get promoted'," said Goode, who was persuaded to step down from the Iron and team up with Curle.

"But to actually make it a reality and do it in the way and the style that we did it after that first leg is a credit to all of us, and a credit to the manager.

"He went through a big change of players, and when I signed last year there were a lot of new players and new faces and it took us a while to gel.

"So credit has to go to the manager because he brought in some great characters, and that is the most important thing for me."

Following the Cobblers' incredible play-off final success, where they dismantled Exeter City 4-0 at Wembley, Curle was once again looking to the future and has immediately set about freshening up and strengthening the squad for life in league one.

Stalwarts in the promotion side such as Jordan Turnbull, David Cornell, Alan McCormack and Andy Williams were released, as was another regular performer Paul Anderson, to make way for the next generation that Curle believes will make the team a force as they step up a level.

And Goode trusts the Town boss to do just that, and insists the recruitment is going to be as much about the character of player that will be brought in as their ability.

"I know the manager is probably the busiest man out there at the moment, trying to bring in some new faces, but we are going to be prepared for the new season and we are going to work really hard," Goode told ntfc.co.uk

"We don't want to stop here, we don't want to stop and say 'oh we've made it to league one'. Let's continue and try and cement ourselves in the division."

The bulk of last season's squad remains intact at the PTS, which Goode is pleased about, but he knows that new blood is always needed to bring new life to any squad of footballers.

"When you bring in new faces, it feels like the people who are already here have to up it a bit more to show the new guys what they are all about," said the 24-year-old.

"That will be important, and I know the manager will bring in the right characters because that is what he focuses on a lot.

"So I am looking forward to getting back (for pre-season), and hopefully there will be a few new faces by the time I do."

There has been no announcement as yet as to when the new EFL season will start, with the Championship play-offs still to be played.

It is being widely reported that the new League campaign will start on September 12, with perhaps a Carabao Cup first round date a week earlier, but Goode still hasn't been given a date for the start of pre-season.

He doesn't believe that is going to be an issue for the Cobblers squad though, as it is only a little under four weeks since the play-off final, and prior to that they had been keeping in shape throughout the coronavirus-enforced lockdown.

"I would say a lot of people probably think that the lockdown period was rest, but for us as players we kept as fit as we possibly could, just in case something like it did happened," said Goode, of the Town players being recalled for training to prepare for the play-offs.

"The first couple of weeks since Wembley have been a nice time, just to relax and put your feet up, and then now and over the next couple of weeks you start easing back into it, because we have to prepare for another long and hard season.

"As players, we are still fit, we are still going to have a good base fitness, so it's just about ticking over and making yourself ready, and when we do get the date to come back we come back firing."