Carlisle United boss: Win must be start of bid for 'respect'

The Blues are back at Brunton Park this weekend when they face Reading – hoping to build on their midweek win at Burton Albion.

Carlisle finally ended an eight-game losing run with their 1-0 win at the Pirelli Stadium.

Manager Simpson knows it will take much more to lift the gloom of recent times, but hopes it can be a building block.

“We have to change the feeling that’s been around the football club,” said Simpson. “We have to play with real pride and we have to earn respect back off the fans.

• LISTEN: Simmo on the Blues' much-needed midweek win

“It’s really important, that we do that. They spend a lot of money coming to follow us, doing miles after miles. We’ve got to earn that respect back.

“Tuesday is a start for us. We know it won’t change everything but to go on a run of results you have to win a first one. We’ve got that first one so it’s given us something to build on.”

Carlisle held onto their first-half lead at Burton (Image: Richard Parkes)

Carlisle’s survival prospects remain highly remote with a 13-point gap to League One safety.

They could, at least, pull themselves closer to another struggler should they overcome Ruben Selles’ fifth-bottom Royals at Brunton Park.

Simpson said he had rejected a suggestion of giving his squad Thursday off following back-to-back away trips in recent days.

“Someone was suggesting should we give them Thursday off, but it’s about building now,” he said.

“We’ve got to be really professional between now and the end of the season. I’m going to say it again, we have to earn some respect back.

“That’s me as well. Because I know there are people who’ve lost respect for me for what I’ve done, and I have to accept that.

Paul Simpson says United must continue in their bid to regain respect from fans (Image: Richard Parkes)

“But we’ve got to try and build that respect back up with the way we do things. For me the right thing to do [was] to come in Thursday and get prepared for Saturday.”

Carlisle kept their first clean sheet in 28 league games at Burton and protected their goal with a real fighting spirit after Sam Lavelle had headed them in front.

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“I said that they had to show the desire for a fight, and also the composure to play when we got chances,” Simpson.

“I think they did that really well tonight, and earned the result.

“Football games are not all the same. The only thing we’ve found the same is that we’ve found most of them really tough this season.

“Tuesday was a tough game but we earned that result. We had a little bit of luck, because we defended really well and because we’ve had good delivery to go and score from our own set play.”

This weekend's opponents fell deeper into crisis this week when Reading were deducted a further two points by the EFL over HMRC payments. Owner Dai Yongge has also been fined £100,000.