The satisfaction at a job well done glowed from Morgan Feeney when he spoke after Carlisle United’s win over Rochdale. It was the aura of a defender who had not just dug deep, but enjoyed every second of the scrap.
The Blues’ back line had repelled everything their opponents had thrown at them. Feeney gave a manful performance under fire.
“It feels sweeter sometimes when you are defending, putting bodies on the line,” he said.
“Probably from a fan’s point of view you don’t want to see that nervy sort of defending-your-box type thing...but as a defender I love it, personally.
“I just want to defend the box all the time, when there’s blocks, tackles, clearances…that’s just me. The more we get bombarded, the more I relish it.”
As well he might. Carlisle have put two wins and two clean sheets between themselves and their previous run, when they were leaking badly.
Paul Simpson’s switch to a three centre-half system has located a new stubbornness at the back for the Blues. It is not before time, given their past form and League Two predicament.
Feeney, Dynel Simeu and Jon Mellish were outstanding on Tuesday night. The former Everton and Sunderland man in the trio felt it was the attitude, rather than their tactical shape, that went into the 2-0 victory the most.
“In terms of the system, tactically and things like that, I’ve played in that system loads of times through my career – I’ve played in a four, three, five, whatever you want to call it,” he said.
“I think more than anything it’s about the fight. You can take all the technical and tactical things out of it. It’s about everyone on the pitch just fighting for each other.
“At the minute that’s clear and obvious. And we’re getting a good reaction off the fans, which I suppose is all they can ask for: us going out and fighting.
“We’re trying to do that until the very last game of the season. There’s a good feeling in the dressing room at the moment.”
The timely improvement at Carlisle has taken them up to 19th and three points above the relegation zone. It is quite some about-turn under Simpson given the heavy pessimism hanging over the place less than two weeks ago.
There are miles still to run, but supporters are certainly enjoying the change in mood. How about the players?
“Swindon [the 3-0 defeat two weekends ago] seems so long ago now,” Feeney said. “It’s chalk and cheese.
“There was a feeling [on Tuesday]… there was no doubt we were gonna win. We just knew. No-one said it aloud, but you could tell by the atmosphere.
“I think you could see from Saturday’s performance, and this performance, everyone’s fighting for each other. If someone made a mistake, someone was there to back them up.
“Maybe it hasn’t been like that for the last however many games. But I’d like to say we’re building on things well. Two games and two wins is a good start under the new manager, but it’s just a start, we want to keep going.
“That game’s gone now and we need to think about Oldham on Saturday and go from there.”
Feeney was not convinced when it was put to him by the club’s media officer, Andy Hall, that Tuesday was his best performance in a Carlisle shirt. The 23-year-old said he would continue to “nit-pick” his performances in search of better.
This attitude will do him no harm, nor will an ability to ride the waves of this turbulent season: his first, it shouldn’t be forgotten, of serious, regular first-team action.
“In my short career so far I’ve had a lot of highs in football,” said the former England youth captain. “The season hasn’t panned out how we wanted it to go…but the old saying is that you should never get too high or too low in football.
“You just have to focus on the job in hand. It’s an opportunity, a challenge, to relish, and grab by the scruff of the neck. Just fight to the end of the season.”
Feeney’s involvement at the business end for Carlisle now sees him reunited with Simpson, who coached him in the England set-up. The defender is pleased to be working under the Cumbrian again.
“He always impressed me then, and the coaches he had with him,” Feeney said. “I didn’t think I’d be fortunate enough to work with him at club level, which fortunately I have.
“I’m relishing that at the minute. It’s a good thing that I know him already and he knows me. I’d like to think he knows what to expect off me and I know him, so it’s a good relationship that can only do us good for the end of the season.”
Simpson’s return has reinvigorated supporters, and lifted team and club from a seriously low place. The run which cost Keith Millen his job, and triggered Simpson’s mercy mission, was bleak indeed.
“We were hurting more than anyone,” Feeney said. “We were trying to fix things from the inside, amongst ourselves, but in terms of what’s changed, we’ve just come together well as a group.
“You can talk tactics, and all that, but I think more importantly you can see on the pitch that when someone does something well we’re all high-fiving each other and you can see it means something to us.
“The subs, the players on the pitch, we’re all pulling together and helping each other through it. There’s some good experience and we’re all drawing on that, and we’re in a good place at the moment. Hopefully that will continue.”
The atmosphere at the end of Tuesday’s game was special in itself. Feeney says the influence of supporters on that uplift is undeniable.
“They’ve been amazing,” he said. “When someone wins a header they’re all cheering, and you see Dynel…he’s doing laps round the pitch, you know what he’s like with all that.
“To be fair we all get a buzz out of it, and it can carry you sometimes. If you look at the clock and you see ten minutes left, you know you’re defending for your lives and even though it’s a cliché they become like a twelfth man.
“It felt like that on Saturday, even though we were away, so they’ve been massive for us. Hopefully the crowds will keep getting bigger and they’ll keep it going for us.”
And so to Oldham, and what, a few weeks ago, was shaping up to be a desperate six-pointer. It is still a game of major importance, but now pits two improving teams against one another.
Carlisle, with two wins from two under Simpson, tackle an Oldham side unbeaten under John Sheridan.
We’re on the back of two good results, they’re in good form at the minute, but I think the feeling at the minute is we’ll go and play anyone, because we know we can do it,” Feeney added.
“You can see it, we’ve kept a couple of clean sheets now, we’re scoring goals…and we know we can see games out, we know we can defend the box, and win games on a counter-attack.
“I think we’ve been dominant on set-pieces in the last two games, especially at Leyton Orient considering they had a significant height advantage. At the minute, bring anyone on. But it’s easier said than done – we need to go and do it.”
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