Carlisle United boss defends Sam Lavelle after criticism

Simpson believes it was “harsh” for the skipper to take flak in the wake of last weekend’s 4-0 defeat to Cambridge United.

United’s boss said Lavelle will be in the side that takes on Bristol Rovers tomorrow and he continues to regard the 27-year-old former Morecambe and Charlton Athletic man as a “real leader”.

“I believe – I'm told – that there was a lot of criticism of Sam Lavelle at the end after last weekend's game, which I think is quite harsh, because I think Sam has shown real leadership qualities for us,” said Simpson.

“He's in a difficult situation because of the way that the team are performing. But I see Sam as being a real leader for us.

“And over the season, I still think he's been a fantastic signing for us, and I expect there to be even more [to come].

“So I will actually say now – Sam Lavelle will be playing at the weekend.”

Lavelle, right, was beaten by Ryan Bennett for Cambridge's fourth goal last weekend. Simpson feels criticism of the defender is harsh (Image: Barbara Abbott)

Lavelle has featured in a defence which has struggled to stem the flow of goals into United’s net in recent weeks.

Their seven straight defeats, which have left them adrift at the foot of League One, have come at a cost of 19 goals against.

Some fans have argued that Simpson should have bolstered his defence in the January transfer window.

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When this was put to the Blues boss by the News & Star, he said: “We tried to strengthen in lots of areas, and some of them happened. And some of them didn't.

“People don't really want to know about who we missed out on. But we made unbelievable offers to bring players into this football club in the January window.

“And we are left with a point where we weren't able to spend all of our budget in January because players turned it down at the last minute and things didn't happen.

“So we tried to strengthen in different areas. Whether I'm satisfied or not [with the current options] is irrelevant. This is what we've got through unti the end of the season – we've got no other players out there who we can bring in. So this is what we've got.

“And we've got to get the players who we have playing to the level that we think they are capable of, whichever permutation of them they are in.

“Whether it's in a back three or back five or back four is irrelevant. We have to get them to show the level of ability that they’ve got. I don't think we have completely, but we're going to keep working to try and get to that point.”

One defender who did join the Blues in January was the young Crystal Palace loanee Seán Grehan, but he has been limited to two brief cameo substitute appearances so far.

Simpson says Seán Grehan must be patient for his first-team chance (Image: Richard Parkes)

Asked if the 20-year-old was getting closer to starting consideration, Simpson said: “He's certainly doing okay. I think it's a big ask for him to come into the situation that we're in as a young player – we've got other experienced centre-backs who are ahead of him.

“I've had a conversation with him last week, or the week before, [to say] that he's going have to be patient, because I've got to choose the right time for him to go in.”

Grehan was among the first-team squad members who played in a reserve friendly against Rangers B on Monday, when most of the XI got 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw.

Simpson suggested he was encouraged by a lot of what he saw in the game north of the border.

“The biggest pleasing thing for me was that was a massive improvement on some of the other games that we've had in that type of fixture,” he said.

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“We’ve had some quite low performances, when I think of Middlesbrough and Blackburn in those games that we played.

“But I thought the attitude of the players was excellent [on Monday]. It was a real good test for us.

“The bulk of it is around getting match minutes and getting fitness out of it. But I thought there were some real positive performances out of it.

“I'm not going to name any individuals. But it certainly was good to see that game.”