Carlisle United face latest pre-season clash with Gateshead

The Blues face National League opposition for the second time in four days after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Rochdale.

Carlisle were outplayed by Dale and their passing style at the weekend and are targeting an improved showing in tonight’s penultimate pre-season game (International Stadium, 7.15pm).

Manager Simpson is likely to rotate his squad in the north east, and hand starts to several players who were substitutes at Rochdale.

Either way, he expects Rob Elliott’s Heed to be ball-playing opposition.

“I watched them last season, towards the end of the season, and they're a good football side,” said United boss Simpson.

“Rob Elliot has got them playing, so it'll be a good test for us.

Former Newcastle keeper Rob Elliot is Gateshead's manager (Image: PA)

“It might not be the same sort of test that we'll get at Gillingham, or even against Barrow, I don't really know, so it's a case of us going and playing on what I expect will be another good pitch.

“I thought the pitch at Rochdale was fantastic – we just didn't use it very well.”

The Gateshead trip was a late addition to United’s pre-season calendar.

Simpson said the game was arranged to help the Blues strike the right balance of pitch time across the squad in the build-up to the new season.

Ethan Robson looks set to miss out after the hamstring injury that saw him substituted in Saturday’s first half.

On the fixture, Simpson added: “It was [arranged] because we recognised that we might be a bit short on some players, so the ones who need the minutes will play.

“That means the likes of Ben Barclay, Jack Ellis, probably Taylor Charters, probably Sam Lavelle – all of these lads.

“On Saturday I was disappointed that we lost Ethan after half an hour because that wasn't part of my plan, but we'll wait and see how everybody is.

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“We may call and bring the young boys back into it. Sam [Hetherington], Jake [Allan] and Fitzy [Aran Fitzpatrick] might come back into the mix.

“We felt it was good for them to get as close to 90 minutes as possible for the youth team at Milnthorpe [on Saturday], so hopefully they've come through that unscathed.”

It is United's second visit to the International Stadium in consecutive summers, after they faced Newcastle's Under-21s at Gateshead's ground last year (Image: Barbara Abbott)

Charters will return to his former loan club tonight while Jon Mellish and Luke Armstrong are the other ex-Gateshead players in the Blues ranks.

Gateshead, who won the FA Trophy last season, finished sixth in the National League but were controversially denied the chance to compete in the play-offs after the council’s failure to guarantee them a ten-year lease to play at the International Stadium.