Paul Simpson says he will treat the Carabao Cup with maximum respect at his former club Shrewsbury Town tonight – even if he mixes up his Carlisle United team.
The Blues boss takes his side to the club he managed in 2008-10 for tonight’s first round tie (Montgomery Waters Meadow, 7.30pm).
It could give Simpson the opportunity to use his squad amid a busy month of games and travelling.
But United’s boss says he and the players will take the tie seriously as they are desperate for a cup run in 2022/23.
“We’ve got some really good options,” said Simpson as he weighs up his selection.
“I’m not treating it with any sort of disrespect but as a game we want to desperately go and win.
“I’m not even bothered what they do, it’s about how we go about it and what we can do in terms of our players, and hopefully the team that does get selected performs and gets the result.”
If Simpson mixes things up tonight it could see opportunities for players such as Corey Whelan, Sonny Hilton, Jamie Devitt, Omari Patrick and new signings Jayden Harris, Jack Stretton and Michael Kelly.
Simpson said: “You have to weigh everything up, look at the physical output they’ve put in in two [league] games, how they’re looking in training and any niggles from the weekend.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to put an XI out to start the game that gets the right sort of performance that gets through in the cup.
“The players have said they want a cup run. They told us that in Largs [on United’s pre-season training camp] when we talked about the games that were coming up.
“They want a good cup run and this is the first opportunity for them to start that off. It’s a really good game to look forward to.”
It is also a reunion for Simpson with the club he managed more than a decade ago.
His time at the Shropshire club included an agonising League Two play-off final defeat to Gillingham in 2009.
“I’ve got some good memories and I’ve also got some bad memories,” he said of his time with the Shrews.
“But when you get sacked at a club that’s normally the case.
“I think back to when I went in, and my remit was to keep them up. We stayed up quite comfortably, and the next season we lost in the last kick of the game in a play-off final.
“I did alright. But then I let myself down because my signings weren’t very good in my last year.
“I made a lot of money for the club selling Grant Holt but I lost him and Ben Davies – a lot of goals.
“But it’s my own fault, I didn’t recruit well enough to keep me in a job, and the consequences are you get the sack, so we move on.
“It’s the next game for us and I’m sure I’ll see some familiar faces and I’m quite sure I’ll get some grief.
“I don’t really care, to be honest, it isn’t about me it’s about how the players go and perform.
“If they do what they have been doing for these two games, and through pre-season, they’ll be ok.
“As long as we go and do ourselves justice that’s all that matters.”
Carlisle-born striker Ryan Bowman - whose goal knocked the Blues out of last season's FA Cup - could be in Steve Cotterill's Shrews squad.
Tonight is United and the Shrews' first League Cup meeting since 2008 - when Simpson was in the home dugout.
A Peter Murphy free-kick earned Carlisle a 1-0 win that night.
Tonight's tie will go straight to penalties if it is a draw after 90 minutes.
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