Paul Simpson said it was clear what Paul Huntington will bring to Carlisle United in his performance on full debut.

The experienced Cumbrian defender put in a commanding display in the 1-0 win over Gillingham.

It came after Simpson handed the 34-year-old his first start at Brunton Park following a sub outing at Stevenage the previous weekend.

Huntington’s leadership and defensive qualities were on show in his 72-minute outing.

READ MORE: Carlisle United v Gillingham verdict: Non-stop Jon Mellish forces Blues back to winning ways

Manager Simpson said: “He’s trained that way as well. I’ve been really pleased with him training-wise.

“Me being a big selfish, I thought he could have played last week at Stevenage, I thought he was ready.

"But I understand that he wanted a bit longer to train, and he’s trained this week really well.

News and Star: Huntington heads clear against GillinghamHuntington heads clear against Gillingham

“He’s a good character, good personality about him, and I think everybody can see what he’ll bring to the team.

“He’s a leader. He has experience, he wins headers, he talks, organises, doing everything I wanted him to do.

“What we have to do is make sure we manage him right so he’s going into games fresh and we’re not slogging him and wearing him out so he can’t go and perform like he did today.”

Simpson said the decision to replace Huntington in the second half was a precaution regarding the former Preston North End man, during his longest first-team outing since March 2021.

“He was starting to feel his calf in the first half, just tightness, so we felt we had to take him off,” the manager said.

“Again, as I keep saying, we have to take a longer-term view on it because we want to make sure everybody is right.”

Huntington’s substitution saw Simpson bring Morgan Feeney back into action after his recovery from a foot injury.

Fellow defender Jon Mellish, meanwhile, came in for praise from the Blues boss after grabbing the winning goal against Neil Harris’s men.

“That’s what he gives you, because he’s got energy and athleticism to get up and down,” Simpson said.

“At times he makes some crazy decisions and you wonder where he’s going. But he gets in there. He gets himself involved.

“I thought defensively we looked really solid, with Hunts just leading it at the back, Tomas taking crosses like he’s doing.

“If we can keep that, and we’ve got good options with Duncan Idehen coming into the club, Morgan fit again, Corey Whelan doing well [in this game], and it’s just up to us to choose the right options each time.”