The Blues are in their fourth season in third place, having suffered a play-off semi-final loss – to Sunderland and Oxford – in successive campaigns
The goal again this time is to return to the championship for the first time since 2012
After a stuttering start, Kenny Jackett’s side started showing signs that they have turned a corner after road wins at Gillingham and Sunderland and move up to fifth in the table
After a promotion through the Ligue 2 play-offs, the Cobblers started the campaign slowly and placed 19th
They were beaten 2-0 at home against Charlton last Saturday before their trip to Pompey’s ‘big club’ tonight
And Curle is wary of the threat of in-form forward and ex-Cobbler John Marquis, having scored three goals in his last two games
The Sixfields boss said: “Portsmouth are another very good team in this league and when you look at the size of the football club you could tell they haven’t managed to be in this league forever.
« It’s a huge club With Kenny Jackett, they have a very good manager, they use their strengths and they have very good players
« I think they’re playing a slightly more direct style than before, but that’s to take advantage of their strengths as they have a fantastic finisher and a good center-forward in Marquis
« They attract people around him more often and he knows where the goal is. They won’t roll the ball or run too many passes to get into the final third »
« There were some positives to take from Saturday’s game, but we need to be a little better in the final third
‘The defining moments don’t quite go our way and sometimes it all depends on the finer details, they can be little things, but just because they are the little things doesn’t ‘they are not important
« We need a little more know-how not only for our defense, but also for our attacking game
« It will come with the number of games we play at this level and getting results Sometimes you just have to not improve and good players, when they lose they learn
« We were very tenacious in our defense against Swindon and that made the first goal we conceded on Saturday even more disappointing
« Right now we are tested and stretched but we are not too far »
Portsmouth FC, Northampton Town FC, Keith Curle, John Marquis
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