Northampton Town have this afternoon announced that they have parted company with manager Keith Curle and his assistant Colin West. 

The decision comes following the Cobblers poor run of form, leaving them winless in 2021 and without a goal in their last four matches. Curle leaves Northampton placed 23rd in League One, inside the relegation zone on goal difference. 

A club statement from Chairman Kelvin Thomas read: 

"We have a huge amount of respect for Keith and Colin and we will always owe them a debt of gratitude for the promotion they achieved but we feel a change is now required," he said.

"Our results, and in particular our lack of goals, have left us in a very difficult position in the league and we believe that this decision is in the best interests of the club as we battle to retain our League One status.

"Keith and Colin leave with our thanks and our best wishes and their time at the club will go down as a success, especially managing us through the difficult period of Covid 19."

Curle at the Cobblers

Curle joined Northampton in October 2018, with the side struggling in League Two. He guided them out of trouble to a 16th placed finish in the fourth tier. 

One year on, the 57-year-old finished in the play-off places on PPG  and his team did the unthinkable and came back from 2-0 down against Cheltenham Town in the League Two play-off semi-final to win 3-2 on aggregate, earning themselves a place at Wembley.

The Cobblers then went onto win comfortably against Exeter City in the final coming out on top by four goals to nil, to earn Curle his first promotion in senior management.

This season

It hasn't worked out for Curle in League One so far this season, with the Cobblers winning only one of their last ten games. They are also the lowest scorers in the division with only 20 goals scored so far this season, leaving fans unimpressed by the Englishman's direct style, which proved to be so effective in getting the Cobblers out of League Two.

Northampton chairman Kelvin Thomas made the decision to sack Curle on Wednesday following Northampton's shambolic display against Wigan Athletic on Tuesday night, where they were beaten by a goal to nil by one of their relegation rivals.

Curle's replacement 

Youth team coach Jon Brady will now take temporary charge of the Cobblers, with club legends Ian Sampson and Marc Richards as his assistants. Three men who all know what it means to be a part of Northampton Town Football Club.