Paul Simpson says the impressive Harrison Neal is a player Carlisle United can build their future around.
The combative January midfield signing has produced some strong displays in spite of the Blues’ League One struggles.
And, ahead of today’s home clash with Cambridge United (Brunton Park, 3pm), manager Simpson says the 22-year-old ex-Sheffield United man is already showing signs of the important player he is set to be for the Cumbrians.
“He’s the right mentality, the right attitude, he’s a good footballer,” said Simpson of a player fans voted their player of the month for January.
“I think Josh Vela’s done very well too – maybe not as eyecatching as Harrison, but I think they’re two good signings.
“I really like Luke Armstrong, I think he’s adding so much to it but we’re not getting him the service. I think we’ve seen little flashes of what Jack Diamond can do, but he’s not fully fit yet – not because of lack of matches, more because of this ankle knock he’s had in two games.
“I think we’re getting players in who are going to help us moving forward.
“Harrison is definitely one and I’m really pleased we’ve been able to sign him because he’s a good age as well.”
Neal and his team-mates are hoping to stop the rot today and give Carlisle’s unlikely survival chances a boost.
They start the day 12 points adrift of safety after six straight defeats, and take on a Cambridge side who sit 17th under ex-Millwall, Gillingham and Cardiff City boss Neil Harris.
Cambridge are one of seven clubs in the bottom eight positions to change manager this season – 24th-placed Carlisle the only side in that area not to have done so.
Simpson says he is glad of the ongoing support from the club’s owners, the Piatak family, with this in mind.
“I suppose as a manager you sit here thinking thankfully this ownership group are seeing a long-term picture, and they’re not deciding to change it,” he said.
“Because I feel as though the club is in a good place to move forward, albeit the league position is horrible.
“Thankfully the owners are looking at me and thinking I am still the right one, because I want to stay here.”
On Harris’s visitors, Simpson added: “Neil’s an experienced manager, he knows how to get results, and every time I’ve come up against one of his teams they’ve got a bit of fire in their belly, they’re competitive.
“We expect this to be a tough game. But I think we’ve got a little run of games coming up that we have to make sure we believe we’re going to go and get wins.
“As I sit here now after 31, and we’ve only got four wins, that’s totally not good enough, and we know in the last 15 we’re going to have to win at least half of them.
“It’s a tall order but it’s still mathematically possible and we’ve got to believe we’re capable of doing it.”
Cambridge have only won twice on the road this season, but given Carlisle’s own struggle for wins, Simpson declined to lean on that.
“Their away record’s irrelevant to me,” he said.
“I heard earlier in the week the gap has now gone to 12 points from 11…all of that’s irrelevant too.
“If we don’t win games it counts for nothing. We have to win [today]. It still won’t be the end of us in League One if we don’t win, but we have to go and win, we have to have that mentality that we want to win this game.
“If we do, we know we ain’t coming off the bottom of the league, but it might give us a chance of going to Bristol Rovers and getting two on the trot.
“We need a run like we had when I first came back into the club [in 2022] where we’re winning four or five on the trot.
“Listen, everybody – and I bet even Carlisle United fans – have given up, but we haven’t. We’ve got to keep going. I still believe we get that first win it gives us an opportunity, and that’s the only thing we can focus on.”
United’s support has remained at strong levels despite Carlisle’s lowly position.
And Simpson says he remains as grateful as ever for that.
“I think the support has been outstanding, I can only thank them for it, because they have stuck with us – and stuck with me.
“There’s the odd one who’s having a moan, or the odd one I see. I’m quite sure if I was daft enough to do social media I’d see a lot more of it but I’m not going to.
“The support has been outstanding. I think the reality has hit them, or hit them probably a few weeks or maybe even months ago, that we are chasing our tails a little bit at this level.
“We came into it on the back foot, because of where we were at the start of the season. I still do believe the signings we’ve made will be better for the club moving forward.
“In the summer there’ll have to be a reshaping of it. We’ve got six or seven loans, seven or eight players out of contract…there’s going to be a changearound, and it needs it for the football club.
“Whatever happens we have to make sure we’re in a stronger position to be able to push on to go alongside all the other positive things that are going on in the infrastructure.”
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