Paul Simpson said it was “too early” to talk about whether Sam Lavelle will keep his place after his costly mistake at Charlton Athletic.

The Carlisle United defender’s underhit pass let Alfie May in to score the Addicks’ winner in their 3-2 victory over the struggling Blues.

It saw a United display which was more positive than in some recent outings still end with yet another defeat.

Lavelle was also beaten by May and Daniel Kanu for Charlton’s first two goals in south London.

Asked after the game on BBC Radio Cumbria if, in light of those moments and the criticism the defender is facing, it may be time to consider his place in the side, Simpson said: “It’s too early to be talking about that.

“He’s made a mistake today. Sam’s a player who I trust. We just have to wait and see.”

United’s manager admitted it was a costly error and that Lavelle should have cleared the ball to safety instead of attempting the pass back to keeper Harry Lewis.

“It’s one of those situations where you take the risk out of it, in my opinion,” Simpson said.

“I'm not a defender, I understand about defending, and it was the wrong decision, because we conceded a goal. So we’ve got to deal with it.”

United’s manager said he would not spend more time than normal speaking to Lavelle in light of events at The Valley.

“I will no doubt have conversations with him. I won't speak to him any more than anybody else,” Simpson added to the News & Star.

“Because in football, there's always mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. There’s no player who's played out there who hasn't made a mistake, but unfortunately, it cost us a goal.

News and Star: Sam Lavelle, pictured speaking to groundstaff at Charlton before the game, went on to gift his former club their winning goalSam Lavelle, pictured speaking to groundstaff at Charlton before the game, went on to gift his former club their winning goal (Image: Richard Parkes)

“We all know it. There's no need to highlight it even more. We've just got to get it get it out of the system and got to move on.”

United led at Charlton through Luke Armstrong's goal, and then, after May and Kanu struck, came from behind as Taylor Charters equalised from the penalty spot.

May’s winner for Nathan Jones’ side, though, leaves the rock-bottom Cumbrians 16 points from safety with ten games to go – relegation more certain than ever after a tenth defeat in 11.

Simpson felt United’s overall display was worth a point and that he was encouraged with plenty of what he saw.

“There were a lot of good things that we can take out of it,” he said.

“I think the players have worked extremely hard today and probably deserved something out of it, but unfortunately we go away with nothing again which is the story of our season.

“I’ve said that we have to get some pride back and some respect back. And I do think our level of performance would help towards that.

“But ultimately, we know that it's about getting results. And we haven't got that again.

“I think all the fans who were here could see that there was a determination and a desire and a plan about how we went about it. And the next one is Barnsley on Tuesday, and we’ve got to do it again.”

Simpson felt Armstrong was a “real threat” in how he scored the opener and later forced the foul for the penalty.

At the other end, though, Carlisle shipped three. “The third one – we’ve gifted that one. We all know that’s a simple mistake,” added the manager.

“For the second goal we did not get out and react quick enough – we’ve got to get higher up the pitch and not let that happen.

“Their first goal – they had a bit of luck, the shot was going nowhere near [the goal] but it squirms through legs and a striker like [May] will take those opportunities.

“I thought we were brave in possession and in our pressing. The players stuck to that plan. There were a lot of good things out of it but you can’t keep making that type of mistake and switching off for fractions of seconds – you have to stay with it right through the 95 to the end of the game.

“I’m disappointed for everybody. It’s not just about Sam, it’s the whole team. They worked their socks off and that has to be the base for every game.

“But we have to cut out the stupid mistakes. To score two away from home, in the situation we’re in, we shouldn’t be losing the game.”

Simpson, meanwhile, paid tribute to an impressive turnout of 872 Blues fans in a 13,978 crowd.

“They’ve travelled a long way and not an easy day when I hear of trains being cancelled – it’s been horrendous for them, but they’ve come in their numbers,” he said.

“I hope they’ve seen it’s a group of players that wants to get some results for us and them.”