Short-term contracts ensure 'hungry players' says Cobblers boss Curle

The out-of-contract duo this week put pen to paper on deals that will see them tied to the Cobblers only until January, and the Town boss says the onus is now on Kaja and Harriman to earn themselves extended contracts.

Kaja is a winger who was most recently at AFC Wimbledon, while Harriman is a versatile full-back who was released by Wycombe Wanderers at the end of last season after a three-year stay at Adams Park.

Both have spent recent weeks on trial with the Cobblers and did enough to persuade Curle to offer them those short-term contracts.

Now the Town boss says it is over to the player to do the business on the pitch.

"I like hungry players," said Curle when asked about the short-term deals.

"It is an incentivised contract whereby, the lads that have just recently joined us, they need to get in the team, they need to get in the squad and when they are in the squad they need to perform.

"That is where they can showcase what they are about."

Curle also confirmed that the pair may not be the last out-of-contract players to be signed by Town.

"We are still looking, and it is very fluid," said the Cobblers manager.

"Just because the window is shut, we start working towards the next window now.

"Within that, there are still players that are unattached now, and some players who have made themselves unattached by having their contracts terminated before the window closed, so they are in a better position.

"The thing we do now is we don't panic, and we identify certain needs and different requirements, but the players' identity and character have got to fit."