Having navigated Northampton Town to a 15th place finish in the League Two standings last month, Keith Curle will be looking to push on in what will be his first full season in charge at the PTS Academy Stadium.

Whereas the Cobblers did show fleeting signs of promise during the 2018/19 campaign, a lack of consistency combined with a plethora of injury problems ultimately led to their hopes of gatecrashing the play-offs diminish in the closing stages of the year.

Yet whereas Curle would have ideally wanted to make a better start to his reign at Northampton, it could be argued that he did a sterling job in steering the club away from a possible relegation scrap, considering the lack of quality he had at his disposal.

Therefore, having already launched a complete overhaul of his squad this summer, the 55-year-old will be confident that he can achieve success in the fourth tier.

Keeping this in mind, here are three reasons why we think Northampton could be a team to watch out for next season...

The Cobblers finally have real quality in the wide areas

Ever since the deadly duo of Ricky Holmes and Nicky Adams left the club in 2016, Northampton have really struggled to find sufficient replacements for either player.

With both Daniel Powell and Sam Hoskins only being able to produce the goods on sporadic occasions last season, it is of little surprise that Curle has decided to make some drastic changes in the wide areas this summer.

By bringing back the aforementioned Adams from Bury and signing Joe Martin from Stevenage, the Cobblers boss now has two players who have excellent track-records of playing as wing-backs which is the position that they are likely to be utilised in next season.

If both players can produce the form which saw them excel in the fourth tier for their former sides, there is no reason why Northampton cannot launch a sustained push for promotion.

Curle's trust in youth could pay-off big time

Having given the likes of Scott Pollock and Jay Williams the opportunity to prove themselves last season, it will be very intriguing to see if Curle continues this trend next season.

With academy players playing an important part in the Cobblers' recent history, the likes of Michael Jacobs, Ivan Toney and Mark Bunn all came through the ranks before going on to become regular starters and eventually leaving for pastures new.

Although it is not guaranteed that Northampton's current crop of prospects will be able to follow in the footsteps of this trio, it could be argued that both Pollock and Williams have more than enough talent to become a key part of Curle's plans for the future.

If they do feature prominently during the 2019/10 campaign, it would not be at all surprising if they provide the club's supporters with some cracking displays of football at the PTS Academy Stadium.

Curle's signings so far are perfect for his 3-5-2 formation

When Curle replaced Dean Austin last October, he brought with him to Northampton a distinctive tactical approach which relied heavily on the full-back providing the width needed to sustain attacks.

Yet unfortunately for the former Carlisle United boss, he simply didn't have the personnel needed to carry out this task and therefore had to continuously play players out of position in order to stay loyal to his 3-5-2 formation.

Having brought in 8 new arrivals already this summer and let go several individuals who clearly didn't suit his style of play, Curle will be using pre-season to sort out any prominent issues.

For the Cobblers' sake, they will be hoping that by getting their business done early, they will be gaining somewhat of a head-start on their League Two rivals which will result in them getting off to a flying start when the new campaign begins in August.