Paul Simpson says more “bravery” is needed for Carlisle United to finish one of his most frustrating seasons in football on a better note.

The Blues head to Shrewsbury Town today (Croud Meadow, 3pm) hoping for improvement after a dire run of 11 defeats in 12 games.

Relegation from League One looks certain but manager Simpson says United can still make an impact by building on the better things they have shown in spells recently.

“We’ve got to go and play with bravery and with some freedom, like we started the game [against Barnsley] on Tuesday,” he said, “and like we started at Charlton last Saturday as well.

“But we've got to carry it on. We can't just do it for short periods – we've got to go front foot and we've just got to be braver than we are.

“And that's something that we've got to look at [before this game].”

Rock-bottom Carlisle, despite their woes, have actually started away games consistently well, having taken the lead in their last five matches on their travels.

News and Star: Paul Simpson was Shrewsbury manager from 2008 to 2010Paul Simpson was Shrewsbury manager from 2008 to 2010 (Image: PA)

The fact they have lost all but one of those games, though, highlights their struggle in sustaining their better spells for long enough.

“I’ve been saying all along, it just takes a result to turn it, a little bit of luck to turn it,” added Simpson.

“We haven’t been able to get that for far too many long periods this season.

“It’s been a really frustrating season, probably as frustrating a season as I’ve ever been involved in.

“But I still believe this club is in a really positive position to be able to come back stronger.”

Simpson is set to be without Josh Vela again with the ex-Shrewsbury midfielder sidelined with a knee cartilage problem that could require an operation.

The United boss has been checking on Sam Lavelle in the build-up to this afternoon’s game in Shropshire after a tight hamstring saw the defender substituted late in Tuesday’s 3-2 defeat at Brunton Park.

Shrewsbury, who sit 17th under the returning manager Paul Hurst, are likely to include ex-Blues defender Morgan Feeney, who clashed with Simpson after United’s 2-0 win over the Shrews last September. Carlisle-born ex-United striker Ryan Bowman is also in the Salop ranks.

“These are another established League One side that we’re trying to get to that level of a football club,” added Simpson, who managed Shrewsbury from 2008 to 2010.

“In terms of the size of the club, we are as big if not bigger than Shrewsbury, but we have to go and perform. This season we haven’t and they have. And have for a couple of seasons.

“We’ve got to try and achieve those levels and make sure we do ourselves justice.”