Carlisle United boss clears air with player he 'threw under bus'

And the Carlisle United manager has admitted he should not have made public the situation regarding the unnamed player.

Simpson, after the 4-0 defeat to Cambridge United, suggested in an official club interview that one player had refused to do post-match running work despite being fit enough to be a substitute.

United’s boss said it raised questions about the approach of some individuals.

But the Blues boss has now conceded that he should have kept the matter in-house and that he needed to be less “emotional” when speaking to the media after games.

“Maybe when I reflect on what I said after the game last week, maybe I got too emotional about it and I shouldn’t have done,” said Simpson, speaking to BBC Radio Cumbria at yesterday’s weekly press conference.

“Maybe I need to be a bit colder in disappointment. It’s getting that balance of what’s the right thing to say to make sure I’m not throwing people under the bus.

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“I said things last week that probably with hindsight I shouldn’t have done. But I can’t change that now. I’ve just got to get on with it.”

Simpson said he had cleared up the matter with the player concerned in discussions early this week.

“Everything’s been resolved,” he said. “I cleared the air, we spoke on Monday, dealt with it and we move on. This week is keeping everybody together.

Simpson made the comments about an unnamed player after last weekend's 4-0 defeat to Cambridge (Image: Barbara Abbott)

“Things like that…I need to probably not let that out, probably not tell anybody about it. If I’m asking for unity I’ve got to make sure I have it as well.

“I just try to be honest – I think people want honesty, supporters certainly. I try to say it is it is, because I don’t think supporters are stupid and they can see it too.

“[But] I shouldn’t be throwing players under the bus. Although nobody knows who it is [that I was talking about], it’s something I just have to be careful of, and try and take my Carlisle United supporter’s hat off when I speak to the media and remember I’m the Carlisle United manager and it’s my job to look after everybody.”

Simpson says the message of unity he has preached this week is one everyone at the club has taken on board.

“I am happy that we have got that there,” he told the News & Star.

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“The only way we're going to show it is by getting results, though.

“I've been asked in the past about team spirit, and do you take them all out for dinner together and do you go paintballing and go karting and all that sorts of stuff.

“Team spirit and togetherness comes by winning games of football. I spoke to an assistant manager from a League Two club just recently who had been on a bit of a dodgy run. I spoke to him on a Monday and he said, ‘We managed to nick a result on the Saturday – and the difference on the Monday morning when everybody came in was chalk and cheese’, because everybody gets belief and gets a lift from that.

“We've got to give ourselves a lift by getting results, starting this weekend.”

After the Bristol Rovers game, Simpson plans to bring his players in for training on Sunday amid preparations for another away game at Burton Albion next Tuesday.

United take on mid-table Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium tomorrow (Image: PA)

“We’re going to bring everybody in on Sunday this week because my head is saying, if we go to Bristol Rovers and get a positive result, Tuesday night becomes an even more important game,” he said.

“We've got to go into that fully prepared, fully ready for it to try and give ourselves another lift.”

Carlisle’s run of seven straight defeats and their position way adrift at the bottom of League One – with relegation seemingly inevitable – has increased scrutiny on Simpson and the Blues.

“I know I’ve made mistakes, because I’m human, but I’m going to continue to work hard,” said Simpson.

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“The only thing I want to do is make sure over these last 14 games we get some respect back.

“I do think we’re low at the moment in terms of the supporters’ perception of us – me and the players. We’re not being thought of highly, even though the majority do understand the situation we’re in.

“I’ve had some fantastic letters and emails in support of what we’re trying to do. But I also respect the other people who think [the club] should change the manager.

“The one thing I would say is as a leadership group of the football club there is real unity. We all believe we’re in a good position to move forward and be better.”

Simpson said United have been training on the main Brunton Park pitch this week while he has had one-to-one discussions with members of his squad.

The Blues boss, meanwhile, said that while realistic about the current pressure and predicament which meant he was “looking over his shoulder,” his mindset is not ruled by a “fear” of the sack.  

He referred to a conversation with former Derby County boss Jim Smith who said that, as long as you don’t fear the sack, you can handle the ongoing pressures of management.

“That never drives me, worrying about getting the sack,” Simpson said.

“What drives me is focusing on what I can do to try and improve the club.”