Northampton Town manager admits his side are striving to emulate Peterborough United ahead of the big League One derby

Cobblers, who tackle Posh in a League One derby at Sixfields tomorrow (October 10, 3pm), have lived in Posh’s shadow for over a decade. They last finished above Posh in the Football League in the 2007-08 season.

And Curle has been left in no doubt how important tomorrow’s game is to Cobblers’ supporters.

“I was first told about the derby about two days into the job,” Curle admitted. “One of the supporters, after my first game, wished me well and said ‘just make sure, when you get the chance, you beat Peterborough’ and that was after two days!

“I know it’s very much in the mind of supporters and they want to be competitive in games against Peterborough.

“But the preparation doesn’t change. The focus is exactly the same and the respect levels are exactly the same in terms of the work we do behind the scenes.

“I was lucky enough as a player to play in some very big derby games so I know what it means and I also got a little nudge from the chairman reminding me just how important this game is so I’ve got the message.

“Peterborough have got that structure in place and they’ve had it in place for a while. Their chairman is very vocal and very opinionated but behind the scenes, with Barry Fry, they’ve got good football knowledge.

“Darren Ferguson has got a fantastic pedigree in football and now he’s got his own identity and that’s something he’s always strived for. I played with him at Wolves and he’s very much an individual thinker - he won’t be swayed by other people’s opinions.

“He’s got a view of how he wants the game played and that’s very important.

“They’re well-coached and well-organised and there’s a good structure in place. There’s a vast amount of knowledge and got good business sense with good foundation and that’s something we’re aiming to replicate here.”

Cobblers have a fully fit squad to select from with key men Nicky Adams and Shaun McWilliams available after time out with injuries.