Keith Curle: Forget Derby County, our focus is on winning three points at Leyton Orient

Keith Curle insists the Cobblers have all eyes on tonight's game at Leyton Orient and not the hotly-anticipated visit of Derby County in the FA Cup on Friday.
One game at a time...One game at a time...
One game at a time...

Friday's fourth-round tie will be broadcast live on BT Sport and is likely to attract a capacity crowd to the PTS as Cobblers bid to reach round five of the competition for the first time in 50 years.

But, before then, their league campaign takes centre stage as they head to Leyton Orient this evening bidding to strengthen their promotion pursuit.

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"Tuesday is our focus because that's another opportunity to represent the football club and get another three points," said Curle.

"The players know that the focus from the coaching staff will be all about Tuesday's game and then, after that, we'll go to the next fixture.

"That is at the front of all our thoughts. Some people might say you can rest a couple of players because we've got the Derby game but that's not me.

"We'll going to Leyton Orient to win and to gain points and maintain our momentum."

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The prospect of a big game on the horizon can sometimes lead to players playing within themselves, but Curle is confident that won't be the case.

"We don't shy away from success," he added. "The players know that Wayne Rooney and Derby County are coming to Sixfields on Friday - fantastic!

"That shows progression of the football club and that's what we want but there's a game on Tuesday and the mindset in the changing room is that we need a performance.

"Credit to the changing room because their focus is on Leyton Orient. Preparations started on Sunday from the coaching staff.

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"We'll have information for the players on video and out on the training ground - in possession, out of possession, strengths and weaknesses of the opposition and the targets we want to hit, individually and collectively.

"These are all fundamentals that we go through in our preparation and it doesn't matter if we're playing top of the table, bottom of the table, a league above, two leagues above or even Premier League.

"The format of our preparation doesn't change and the players are tuned into that. They look forward to it and look forward to the information that we've gathered on the opposition.

"They also identify the weaknesses that we as a coaching team spot and being able to exploit those weaknesses, we do it in training the day before the game and try to replicate it on gameday."