New Carlisle United boss Mike Williamson's aims and vision

But the new head coach also says everyone must also be prepared to “fight” to bring about the short-term improvement the Blues need.

Williamson was confirmed today as Paul Simpson’s successor at Brunton Park.

He takes charge with the Cumbrians third bottom of League Two but still with big ambitions under the Piataks.

The former MK Dons and Gateshead boss says the Piataks’ vision for the club aligns with his own belief that United can push forward positively.

Asked about his views on Carlisle’s potential, he said: “I wouldn't want to put a limit on it, because that's just restricting it.

“You've got owners here, you've got staff, you've got the infrastructure, the training ground’s coming – that's huge for the development of a football club – and certainly the players are good enough to be successful this season.

“It's going to be an ongoing process that everybody's working and growing.

“For me, I'll always bring it back to today. We've got to prepare the lads for Saturday. We've got to make sure the next training session is the best one – but certainly all the pieces of the puzzle are in place for [the club] to be successful and to climb the leagues.”

Williamson said he was interested in making the move to United the moment he heard of the club’s interest.

He said things had moved quickly and that the situation had developed over a matter of “hours” rather than days.

“Certainly it piqued my interest and it was something that I was extremely keen on exploring,” Williamson told the News & Star.

“And when you look at the football club and its history, and the owners coming in and the project here now, you start to feel and see the alignment in it, the potential in it, and then it's just a matter of exploring it and going through the relevant kind of hoops to make sure it's done right and everybody is understanding and in it for the right reasons.

“And it did – it fit perfectly and it aligned.”

Williamson said his first conversation with the Piataks – he spoke to Tom snr and Tom II from United’s ownership family – was key.

Williamson met the media at Brunton Park on Thursday (Image: Barbara Abbott)

“On paper, it all fits and it's aligned. But until you meet the guys who are employing you and hear from them – and more importantly, feel from them, because they do give off that energy, that they really care and they embody what they're saying and they're backing up here as well – I think that's crucial,” he said.

“There's a lot of uncertainty [in these situations], so those conversations create certain feelings that put all that aside and really make you excited and confident and positive for it.”

Williamson has expressed his belief that the squad he inherits has plenty of quality, and he believes he and his coaching team can help unlock their potential.

While he admitted he had not been able to do lots of detailed analysis as yet, he added: “You just look at the squad list and you can see it's got a really good blend of experience and youth, and some really good players.

• LISTEN: Mike Williamson talks to the News & Star after becoming Carlisle United's head coach

“So, for me, straight away you can see that there's chemistry there, that it's got huge potential.

“We've got every faith in ourselves, in terms of the coaching staff, to come in and get that going and really give the boys the detail and give them the understanding and something to really buy into.

“And, ultimately, they'll take it and they'll work it and they'll make it theirs.”

Asked what in particular he feels will get better results out of the current squad, the 40-year-old said: “I think there's many things, but it's emotion, isn't it? I think it's emotion.

“Everyone knows that when you're on the football pitch or you're watching the football pitch, you see that when the balls are dropping to certain players and certain teams and that creates your own luck and that kind of understanding…[but] there's no luck in it.

“It's when you're on the front foot and you want the football, when you want to attack, you're playing with bravery, you're playing with courage, without fear, then you will get the ricochets and picking up the second balls and you'll get decisions, penalties, free-kicks, little things like that.

“It's an unconscious habit, but it all comes from a place of really believing in what you do and being connected to what you're doing. Therefore, thought kind of goes out the window and you become in your flow.

“That's when you really enjoy football. I think that's why we all get into football when we're kids, because it's that feeling of freedom and it becomes effortless, [and when you] flip it, when you're in a bad moment, everything is effort. Getting up in the morning is effort. It makes it harder.

“But when you're winning and you're feeling good, you're excited.

“It's an emotional thing and we're really trying to help support the boys tactically and technically and with the detail. We do everything we can, but the group in there are really excited.”

Williamson wants to bring a “front foot” style of play that will excite supporters and “look to break the back line” of the opposition as much as possible.

He feels that the kind of possession game he has overseen at his previous clubs can also work at Carlisle, but also said it is about tailoring that to the players at his disposal – and not losing sight of the need to battle as well, given United’s current predicament.

“I think it can play its way [into a better position]. I think it's going to scrap its way there [too],” he said.

Williamson believes all the pieces of the puzzle are there for United to be successful (Image: Barbara Abbott)

“I think every day is a battle. Even when you're top of the league or you're in the play-off positions, it's always a battle.

“That's the unforgiving nature of this industry, of any sport. You've got to fight for everything, every second of every game, of every day.

“I can already see the personality and the character in the players and they're really desperate for it to succeed.

“The feeling is we're not far off and we're really trying to give it everything we've got. The facts are it's very early on in the season, so there are so many games to play and so much football to be played.

“Obviously, there's a few boys on the injury list that are going to really help when they come back, but the nucleus is here, so for me that's an exciting prospect.”

Williamson says that, while the principles he aims to put in place will take time to flourish, there must also be a short-term improvement at Brunton Park.

“Yes, there's got to be an immediate effect,” he said. “There's got to be things that the boys that we're already talking to them about, they take on.

• READ MORE: Ahead of his Blues unveiling, Mike Williamson's coaching philosophy

“But it's going to be something that will develop over time. It's going to be a process. We really will ingrain that in training, but ultimately matchdays and doing it on the stage where the pressure is, and you've got to play with that bravery and courage, is important.

“So then when things are going wrong and when things are going right, we'll assess it and we'll make sure we strip it back.

“But it's a process that we're really excited about and it will be instant in terms of one or two things that you'll see in a way and a desire. You'll see the intention for me to play the way we want to play, but when the boys really own it and they take it on as theirs, that's when the thing will really get momentum and that's important.”

Asked if he had a preferred formation and system, the new Blues boss said: “We have a way of playing in terms of concepts, and I think you can play any type of formation, but essentially it's in possession and out of possession and transition.

“So you've got jobs to do and you've got things that you are responsible for and nothing's ever set in stone.

“We can start a certain way – we [as coaches] have played with a back three and it's a box with three up top, [but you can also play with] a back four with a 3-3, then you roll somebody in and it's a different formation.

“So for me it's a fluency, it's an understanding, it's a desire to want to attack the back line to play a certain way, but it's about the intensity and it's about the opposition as well.

“We're going to come up against many different challenges and puzzles and we've got to work it out. We've got to find solutions in the game, but it's not just about how we start games, it's about how we adapt and how we adapt to momentum as well. So it's a fluency thing.”

United’s Supporters’ Trust, in a statement welcoming Williamson’s appointment, said they were particularly impressed by the “data-driven” aspect of his management style.

Asked about the nature of this, he said: “It’s really important. The biggest data is scorelines and the league, but underneath that we've all watched games where you come out thinking. ‘How have they lost that? or ‘How have they won that?’

“So you've got to look deeper than that, and you've got to find the metrics that really back up winning games. So in terms of box entries, final third entries, expected goals, possession, the intensity, the load, everything's got to look a certain way.

“And what generally happens over the course of the season is the outcome marries up with the statistics, and if there's an anomaly it generally will sort itself out over the course of the season.

“Of course, why we're in football is you have teams that will go on and get promoted and where they were ranked in terms of budget and things were miles off it. But generally when you see the metrics there's a strong correlation to success.

“So we've got certain ones that we go by,  therefore the club can see if results haven't been going a certain way, but the data backs it up, then it will eventually even out.

“And it [data] also is within recruitment as well, so it's very data-led in that respect. But you can't take away the human aspect of the experience of the guys here, the experience that we've got here in the recruitment department of seeing a player and seeing, ‘He's got something about him, he's got that substance’, he's got that fight that sometimes the data doesn't pick up.

“So it's a relationship between the both, but you can certainly look at certain areas to back up what constitutes winning.”

Tomorrow: Williamson on his backroom staff, the sporting director situation, transfers and more...