Carlisle United manager Paul Simpson's reaction to the 1-0 win over Gillingham

The Blues manager felt there was a nervousness around Brunton Park which was shared by players and fans.

And after Jon Mellish’s goal earned a welcome 1-0 victory, Simpson appealed for greater calm in the early stages of this season.

“It wasn’t a great game, and I don’t know what it was but there was a nervousness from the start,” Simpson said.

“That wasn’t just the players, but with the numbers that turned up I thought the crowd was nervous as well.

“I don’t know why that is. If you look at the league table we’re sat with eight points after five games, which is ok. It’s not brilliant, but it’s not horrendous.

“I just think we need to chill a little bit and go and enjoy it. We’re in a good position and there are positives to take from the game as well.

“We got the win, the clean sheet and if you take three points without conceding it’s most of what you ask for.

“We got Paul Huntington back on the grass, Morgan Feeney was back, Owen Moxon was out there, and we’re closer to getting the other injured lads back as well.

Jon Mellish gives chase before scoring the crucial goal

“We really are in a good place so let’s just stay nice and calm.

“I’ve said this all along – we’ve just got to stick together. The issues at this football club aren’t going to turn around overnight. It’s going to take a bit of time and we’ve got to do it together.

“That’s the big thing I would say. It was frustrating for me at times and I’m sure it was frustrating for the supporters, but if we stick together and enjoy that feeling we had at full-time then hopefully we can do it a bit more than we have done over the past few years.”

Mellish’s first goal of the season, early in the second half, was the decisive moment on a day Huntington impressed on his full debut in defence.

With Moxon back in the starting line-up and Feeney coming off the bench, there was encouragement that some of Carlisle’s recent injury issues are easing.

Simpson conceded that United’s performance was far from their best but he was glad they found a way to claim their second win of the campaign.

Commenting further on the mood around Brunton Park, he added: “I’m not criticising supporters and I massively appreciate that some supporters are in a horrendous financial position at the moment with the way our country is.

“I don’t need to go into too much – there’s the energy crisis, Ukraine war, we’re coming through Brexit, Covid, you name it, we’ve had the lot.

Morgan Feeney replaces Paul Huntington in the second half (Image: Barbara Abbott)

“I get it, I understand. When they come in, I said to the players at half-time, ‘Do not wait for the crowd to lift you, you’re going to have to lift them. You’re going to have to get on the front foot’.

“We’ve just got to try and create a little bit more of a positive atmosphere.

“I do think there’s a positive feel, and while I don’t go into town very often, whoever I do talk to are really happy with what’s going on. They can see that we’re trying to do the right things, and there’s an understanding that it’s never going to be right all the time.

“We’ve just got to be a little bit patient, take a bit of a breath and make sure that we do all stick together so that we can make it a better place than it has been.”

Simpson conceded that the goalless first half was a poor spectacle.

“I just thought the first half was horrible, it wasn’t a good football game, I didn’t think we showed what we’re capable of,” he said.

“I thought we looked ok defensively, really assured, Tomas Holy came and dealt with crosses and didn’t have any shots to save, Paul Huntington came and settled in and looked composed and calm and led the back line well.

“It was just a scruffy game of football. But there’s a lot of scruffy games of football at every level and you just have to find a way to get a result.

“In a week or two nobody will remember what the game was like, they’ll just know we got three points out of it.

“I remember in our promotion season we had a run of home games that were all scruffy 1-0 wins. But you get promotion and everyone’s going doolally and enjoying it.

“You just have to grind results out sometimes, and it gives you a confidence, a lift.

“The fact we got a clean sheet is a big thing, and we’ve just got to keep working with the players, keep them understanding if you do the basics right you’ve got half a chance.”