But after a fine March, which has moved the Blues clear of relegation danger, there is every chance that Simpson will soon be receiving some personal accolades.

For when the discussions begin over League Two's manager of the month nominees, his name will undoubtedly be among the contenders.

Carlisle have lost just once this month while picking up five victories that have all-but guaranteed another season in the EFL.

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And while the results have been there for all to see, there have been some key improvements in the data underlying the Cumbrians' performances too.

We take a closer look:

IMPROVEMENTS AT BOTH ENDS

Before Simpson's arrival, Carlisle possessed one of the leakiest backlines in the league while struggling to really impose themselves at the other end of the table.

Indeed, in February the side were expected to concede more than two goals in every game bar one - according to the Expected Goals Against (xGA) metric.

The one exception was the trip to Leyton Orient, the only game in the month that the new manager took charge of.

At the other end, meanwhile, there was only one game where their Expected Goals (xG) tally was above one as Keith Millen struggled to get the best out of his new-look forward line.

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These are only illustrative statistics of course, but they paint a clear picture of a side struggling to create meaningful chances while giving too many away at the other end of the field.

But both of those datasets have seen a marked improvement in March, as shown below:

Carlisle's xG is up, from an average of 0.78 per game to 1.26 per game, and their xGA is down from 2.19 to 1.71.

There are naturally still steps to be taken, especially when you compare these numbers to the sides at the top of the table.

But the Blues are looking a threat going forward and have shored things up defensively. For much of February, that looked an almost impossible task.

THE LESS TANGIBLE QUALITIES

It would be remiss not to mention the less tangible qualities that Simpson has instilled in the side since his arrival.

The passion, the fight, the desire to put their bodies on the line for the cause.

That has definitely played a part in Carlisle's defensive improvements - and is underlined by the data from March:

The Cumbrians are winning more in the air, regaining possession on a more frequent basis and doing some good-old-fashioned clearing of their lines when required.

They may seem like basic things, but they are areas of the game in which Carlisle have been lacking this campaign.

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Simpson's switch to a 3-5-2 has been a key part of the new-found defensive nous - which has yielded two clean sheets in March thus far - but there also appears to be a large element of man management at play, perhaps emphasised by the emergence of Dynel Simeu and Morgan Feeney as real leaders within the side.

They, along with Jon Mellish, have provided Carlisle with a solid base from which to build from with their desire to do the, at times, ugly side of the game.

It was a side of the game we didn't see enough of in previous months, and is one Simpson has done well to coax out of his players this month.

THE ONE IMPORTANT PIECE OF DATA

But ultimately in football, there is only one real piece of data that matters.

And thankfully, Carlisle have capitalised on the aforementioned improvements in their performances by securing all-important points.

No side in League Two has attained more than the 15 points picked-up by the Blues in March, with only Plymouth Argyle bettering their record across the top four tiers.

And with a game still to play this month - at Rochdale tonight - Carlisle could yet match the Pilgrims' tally too.

All data courtesy of WyScout s.P.a.