Keith Millen insists he has seen early signs that Carlisle United can be comfortable with a passing style of play.

The new Blues boss recently said the squad he inherited does not have the personnel to play a long-ball game.

And Millen said he was encouraged with the “composure” he says he saw in possession against Horsham.

United eventually got the better of their non-league visitors to win the FA Cup first round tie 2-0.

It was a far from straightforward passage into the second round with Carlisle taking until the 69th minute to get the breakthrough against their Isthmian League opponents.

But Millen said he saw some good signs of what he is trying to introduce on the training ground.

“The thing I was most pleased with, and what I’ve learned about the group, is that they can handle the ball as a team,” he said.

“There was a composure to what we did. We didn’t just kick it long, we got some passes in.

“The fans need to understand that sometimes I want us to be patient.

“If we can’t get in down one side of the pitch and we have to come out and then go, that’s what we have to do.

“Hopefully the fans can see that we’re still trying to score goals, but there’s ways of doing it.

“We knew we had to move Horsham around. If we’d stayed rigid and kicked it long, they’d have been in the game for a lot longer than they were.

“We moved it from side to side and you could see they were tiring which happens naturally. I was pleased with the confidence the players showed on the ball.”

United often adopted a direct style under Millen’s predecessor Chris Beech.

The new manager, though, clearly feels Carlisle are better suited to keeping the ball on the floor for longer periods.

He said such an approach also requires confidence – something that needs rebuilding after the recent run of poor results.

“When you’re struggling a little bit with your confidence it’s easier to hide,” he said.

“We’re a group of players who showed that we can handle the ball, and if you give them a structure and some understanding, with the movement being right, every time you get into good areas things look better.

“It’s only a case of playing simple football well and it becomes effective. There were signs of that on Saturday, definitely.

“We had options for the man on the ball, we had runners down the sides, and that will hurt teams if we keep doing it.

“Some of it caught in the wind, so it wasn’t perfect, and the conditions had a big impact on what we were trying to do with the ball.

“But there was a picture of what we were trying to do, and if the players keep to that they’ll become better at what we’re trying to do.”