Carlisle United's Paul Simpson says Blues fans abused him at Blackpool

Simpson says he received abusive gestures and words from “a lot” of travelling fans at Bloomfield Road.

The United manager also hit out at the way some in the near-2,000 Blue Army cheered when Luke Plange was substituted during the game.

Simpson was visibly upset as he spoke about the matter in post-match interviews.

United’s boss apologised for swearing as he spoke about his feelings but said he wanted to explain exactly what he said he faced.

• Match report from Carlisle's 3-0 defeat at Blackpool

Speaking first to the club’s official channels, Simpson said: “Yes, our performance wasn’t good enough against a team that was better than us, but I’m really disappointed with the supporters today.

“People might not like this, because supporters think they’re invincible and you can’t say anything against them.

“Let me tell you, I don’t deserve to get people giving me a w***** sign when I go over there, I don’t appreciate people telling me to f-off when I go and thank the supporters at the end of the game.

“Because I think we’ve made a big difference to this club – not me, we – and the supporters have been outstanding. Today at the end of the game they weren’t outstanding.

“I also don’t think it’s right that they are clapping when we take a young 20-year-old striker off the pitch in Luke Plange.

“If they’re supporters of this football club, like we think they are, I don’t think that’s right. I am really disappointed about that.”

It was a frustrating afternoon for a near-2,000 strong travelling United support at Bloomfield Road (Image: Richard Parkes)

Simpson accepted Carlisle’s performance reflected a “gulf in quality” between his side and Blackpool although he maintained United did not lose through a lack of effort.

He conceded the Blues are going through a “sticky patch” in the League One relegation zone.

But he repeated his annoyance at the treatment he says he came in for, when he went on to speak to BBC Radio Cumbria and the News & Star.

Simpson repeated the word w***** on air as he expressed what he said had happened.

And he went on to say: “I think they’ve got a very short memory because when I came back into this club, this club was on its knees.

“They all wanted to turn up and support us when the good times were going, when we had runs of wins, and got into play-off semi-finals and finals, and won at Wembley, and got in League One…they all want to cheer and enjoy that.

Blackpool 3-0 Carlisle United - as it happened

“When I came back in February 2022 I talked about us sticking together because we’d have sticky patches. Now we’re having a sticky patch – and suddenly everybody wants to make gestures like that today. I don’t need that in my life, I don’t need that at all.”

Radio Cumbria’s James Phillips told Simpson that most fans would not have been attacking him in such a way and it was probably only a few, but the manager said: “It wasn’t a few, it was a lot.”

Some fans have said on social media that the criticism and abuse was aimed more at the team than the manager.

Phillips, meanwhile, also asked the manager if comments such as "I don't need that in my life" meant he would ever consider walking away from United if he had to face similar treatment again.

“I’m not going to answer that,” Simpson said.

Speaking to the News & Star, United’s boss went on to say: “Let me tell you now, if I walked over and did that to them there would be absolute uproar.”

His remarks came after Carlisle went down to goals from Andy Lyons and Jordan Rhodes (two) sent the Cumbrians to another defeat.

“That’s not what Carlisle United fans are about, Carlisle United fans are not that fickle,” he added, speaking again of the reaction when Crystal Palace loan striker Plange was substituted.

“People are probably sick of me saying stick together…[but] I’m not sure, if the turnaround hadn’t happened, whether we’d have been taken over by the Piataks, who have an unbelievable spring in their step, a real energy to try and improve the football club.

“In fact, it didn’t [happen before] because they [the club] had been trying to get a takeover for years and it hadn’t happened.

“Now we’re in a position where the football club has got a brighter future, and yeah, we do have to ride through this little bit of a storm – probably the first storm we’ve had since February 2022.”

On the defeat to Neil Critchley’s Blackpool, Simpson said: “They were better than us. Simple as that.

“It was a lack of quality, certainly not a lack of effort. I don’t even think the tactics were wrong. We weren’t clinical enough in both boxes.”