Caretaker reacts to Carlisle United's loss to Bradford City

The joint caretaker boss said that, however positively United played in certain spells at Valley Parade, they were not good enough in the key moments.

Andy Cook scored either side of a Harrison Neal goal as Carlisle suffered a fourth defeat in five League Two games to go third bottom of the table.

It was the first league game since Rudd, Mark Birch and Jamie Devitt took interim charge after Paul Simpson’s departure yet it was a sixth defeat in seven in all competitions.

Rudd told the News & Star: “The only stat that matters coming out of these games is the result, and it's not a good one for us.

“We firmly believed we could come here and get a result. We've had a good performance level in spells, but goals change games.

“We've had chances for those goals to go in and we've not taken them, and we've gifted a couple of opportunities at the other end where we have to be better than that.”

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United went behind inside the first two minutes when Bradford’s Jamie Walker pounced on a Jon Mellish error to set up Cook.

Andy Cook reacts after opening the scoring for Bradford (Image: Martyn Haworth)

Neal levelled in the second half when his tame finish was spilled into the net by home keeper Sam Walker.

But Cook powered home the winner 20 minutes from time as Carlisle’s struggles went on.

Rudd said United’s lack of ruthlessness where it counted was their downfall. “That's football in general,” he added. “Games are won and lost in both boxes, and things will turn.

“We have to be better in one box in terms of taking chances, punishing teams, getting ourselves ahead in the game, going and putting ourselves 1-0 up and seeing what happens from there, and also defending the other goal better.

“The basics of the game – keep it out of one net, take your chances at the other end.”

United looked to play a more passing style at Bradford but this cost them for the opener as Mellish’s poor control when receiving the ball from keeper Harry Lewis let in the Bantams.

Rudd accepts that such a style brings risks but believes it is still the right method to promote.

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“Playing that type of football, these things are going to happen. We take full responsibility for it,” said Rudd.

“It's how the club want to play going forward, it's how we want to play, it's how the players want to play.

“But we do have to own up that mistakes are going to happen playing that way.

“The players know that, they've said it themselves – we cannot start games like that.

Joint caretaker boss Steven Rudd (Image: Martyn Haworth)

“Yes, we do want to play, but you have to pick and choose your times when and where and what time of the game, and manage the game better.

“Once we eradicate those basic mistakes out of the game, there's a group of players in there that will be successful.”

United also missed some good chances and Rudd added: “I think if the players keep giving, and everyone around the club keeps giving the full effort that they are, luck will turn.

“You make your own luck, I massively believe that, and the lads have put a right shift in there, so that's why they've been so close to getting something from the game.

“But yes, we've hit the post, had a couple of skirmishes in and around the box, it hasn't quite fallen, but again we have to create our own luck with that bit of quality, that bit of extra work, that extra run to go on and really punish teams.

“For all the good play we've had, we need to be creating more and better chances at the other end.”