Richard Keogh thanks Carlisle United fans for reception

The veteran Wycombe Wanderers defender had his name sung by Blues supporters at the end of the 2-0 defeat at Adams Park.

United’s faithful have not forgotten Keogh’s crowd-pleasing spell at Carlisle from 2007 to 2010.

And the 37-year-old was touched by the welcome they gave him in Buckinghamshire.

“It was absolutely brilliant for me,” Keogh told the News & Star.

“I’ve spoken many times about how I loved my time at Carlisle, how important it was for me at that stage of my career, and [the reception] was lovely.

“It just sums them up, really, coming all this way, being loud…

“I always remember when I played at Brunton Park the fans were incredible, especially when we had the bigger games. That’s why we ended up getting some fantastic results against bigger teams.

“I always look back on that time as fantastic – it’s got fantastic people, it's a fantastic club, and bumping into some of the people involved with the club on Saturday, people still connected with the club since my time there, was great."

Blues players thank the travelling fans - who also show their respect to Richard Keogh after defeat at Wycombe #cufc @newsandstar pic.twitter.com/hJAHa9KRxA

— Jon Colman (@joncolman) September 30, 2023

“I was only about 21 when I first came to Carlisle, so it’s a few moons ago," added Keogh. "I spoke to a few people on Saturday and they’re saying fingers crossed about the takeover.

“I still look for their results, and seeing them go up at Wembley last year was fantastic, especially with Simmo [Paul Simpson] being manager.

“Simmo and I worked with each other at Derby in a really exciting time for me in my career. Simmo’s a fantastic guy, a fantastic manager and when they got up at Wembley it was fantastic.

“It’s always nice and always great to play against a former club like that.”

Keogh, who made 85 appearances in a loan and then permanent spell at Carlisle, believes Simpson’s side have enough to survive in League One this season.

Keogh helps a team-mate with cramp during Saturday's game (Image: Barbara Abbott)

That’s despite his Wycombe side getting the better of the Cumbrians in their latest outing.

“Naturally it’s always going to be a step up, because the quality of the level is strong,” said the former Bristol City, Derby, Blackpool, Huddersfield Town, Coventry City, MK Dons, Ipswich Town and Republic of Ireland man.

“Last year [in League One] you had Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth – they were sort of anomalies in a sense – but this year it’s more open.

“There are still some fantastic teams in the league but I think a lot more teams will take points off each other.

“In Carlisle I saw a team that were well organised, which we expect from Simmo, and you’ve got Seani [Maguire] who I played with for Ireland…he’s going to score goals at this level. He’s a sharp operator.

“I think I’ve seen enough for them to be positive about. I suppose when you step up, when you’re used to winning more games at the level below and then don’t win as many, it’s about staying with the process and sticking to the things that are going to be successful.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine and maybe with the takeover, come January he [Simpson] can add to the squad which will help.

“They’ve got some really good players. I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

Keogh was voted Wycombe’s man of the match against his former club as goals from Luke Leahy and Sam Vokes clinched the points for the hosts.

They prevailed after Jokull Andresson’s red card for United.

“It was a good performance from us in the end,” added Keogh.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game. We’d watched a lot of Carlisle’s games and they’ve been in every game, especially away from home – they’ve performed pretty well.

Keogh, left, pictured in action during his Carlisle United spell (Image: Louise Porter)

“We knew it was going to be important to get the first goal. We started really well, the sending-off changes the momentum of the game but, to be fair to Carlisle, they stayed in it and created a couple of opportunities.

“From us it was about being professional and it was nice to get the clean sheet and the win.”

Keogh admitted he was as surprised as anyone by the manner of the first-half flashpoint, which saw Vokes sneak up on Andresson before the panicking keeper handled the ball outside the box and was dismissed.

“Me and Josh [Scowen] were just speaking about something, then you hear a noise from the crowd and think, ‘What’s going on?!’,” said Keogh.

“He [Vokes] has nicked if off him and I think it’s sheer panic from the keeper – he’s lost all his bearings and naturally you go with your hands.

“It was avoidable from Carlisle’s point of view but clever play from Sam.

“When [the opposition] go to ten [men] you know it’s going to cause a different issue, so it’s about trying to keep the intensity of the game. I thought we did that.

“The penalty settled us down a bit and luckily for us we got that first goal. It was a professional performance from there.

“We knew, to be fair to Simmo, he would change it at half-time, which gave it a different look – they played a bit more cat and mouse with the wingers.

“For that little period we had to make sure we defended well, put our bodies on the line and once we got through that period I thought we regained control.”