Paul Simpson says he is delighted with the “togetherness” his players showed at St Andrews – despite a number of disruptions.

The Carlisle United manager described the five-day stay north of the border as a valuable exercise on and off the pitch.

And that is despite the Blues having to abandon training on one of the days because of the weather – and several players having to leave the camp because of personal issues.

Simpson said some of his squad have had “tough issues” to deal with, as Jon Mellish, Sam Lavelle and Terell Thomas all spent time away from the group.

“Terell had to go home to London early on in the week because one of his children was taken into hospital – they're okay now,” said Simpson.

“Sam Lavelle was at a family funeral, so he had to go.

“And then we had the situation where Jon Mellish left us because of a family issue.

“It has been disrupted, and there have been some really tough things that the players have all had to cope with, but I've got to say that their attitude during the week has been absolutely first class.”

Carlisle spent Monday to Friday at the University of St Andrews – the second consecutive pre-season they have spent there – before heading to St Mirren for Friday's friendly which they drew 2-2.

As well as stepping up the “physical” intensity of training, United also did sessions with motivational coach Mark Francis during their time at St Andrews.

“It was really important in terms of getting together, living with each other for the week, that togetherness on and off the grass,” Simpson told the News & Star.

“That even goes for them going out for a walk in the afternoons before dinner to go and get a coffee in St Andrews, because I treat them like adults.

“There were no curfews on them – there was no alcohol, but we all had a night out. They went to Nando's for a night to go and have some food.

“But everything was absolutely spot on and I was delighted with the way the players went about it.”

Simpson said United had to shelve one of their training sessions after a deluge of rain.

“We’ve had some really hot weather, but also a monsoon came down where training had to be abandoned because the pitch flooded in five minutes,” Simpson added to the club’s media outlets.

“We had every season there.

Mark Francis worked with the Blues in ScotlandMark Francis worked with the Blues in Scotland (Image: Barbara Abbott)

“But the players stuck to it. I’m so pleased with their attitude and the togetherness.

“They also really bought into the work we did with Mark Francis. That was more about communication, setting some goals for the season, getting them to understand what makes each other tick and what need from each other.

“I felt it was important to get another voice in to facilitate those conversations. It’s the first bit of work he [Francis] has done with the group this season, there will be more and hopefully we’ll get the rewards.”

Francis, the founder of the Uspire Group which provides leadership, performance and motivational coaching, has worked with Carlisle on several occasions in recent seasons.