Carlisle United's Aaron Hayden on Salford and what's next

“I'll treat it like a loss today in the way we'll attack this week,” the defender says. “I'll still be on people and not want to let anyone ease up.

“This the time where you double down on things.”

This is the attitude Hayden says must be promoted in the wake of one good result. Carlisle clearly need a great many more and the last-minute euphoria at the Peninsula Stadium must not lead to any complacency that United have cracked it.

Now it’s on to the next League Two battle, at Bromley next weekend. The very same resilience must return in London, Hayden says. “Yeah – it’s rinse and repeat. We still need to improve. We've won one game of football. What's that in the grand scheme of things?

“We need to be doing that every week, and those are the standards we need to achieve.”

At the very least, though, Carlisle can go into their next assignment lifted by the scenes at Salford: Ben Barclay’s diving header, a sell-out away end going loopy, the feeling that United, after so much strife, do know how to win again, after all.

Even with their position in League Two still chronic, the need to enjoy the feeling of victory, to feel its gust at their backs, is important at Brunton Park.

“It felt amazing just to get the result that we needed and wanted after working so hard,” says Hayden. “It’s horrible when you work hard throughout the week and you get nothing for it. And you can see the fans are frustrated. Everyone's frustrated and unhappy.

Hayden came close for Carlisle shortly before being replaced by matchwinner Ben Barclay (Image: Richard Parkes)

“I don't see it, but I know people are negative on social media, and with their friends when they’re talking. It's really good just to change that narrative, and hopefully we can start to build confidence within the fan base.”

• LISTEN: Aaron Hayden on the Blues' win at Salford and what's next

Hayden did the hard yards at Salford, defending United’s lines for 85 minutes. He was substituted after cramping up in the closing stages – then his replacement came on to launch himself at Harrison Biggins’ corner to win the game dramatically.

“I wasn't really happy when I came off, but as soon as Barcs has gone in there, I said it's a great substitution,” said the defender. “Because if the gaffer doesn't make that sub, it's probably 0-0. But he's made a sub and he's come on with fresh legs, Ben, a clear mind and ready to do the job for the team, which is the most important thing.”

Barclay could not have won the game for United without the foundations having already been built. For the second successive game Carlisle kept a 90-minute clean sheet – a reassuring development after so many leaky days in 20242/5 so far.

“I felt like [on Saturday] we were keeping a clean sheet no matter what,” says Hayden. “We even made a few mistakes at the back, but the way we reacted after that – boom, it's like, we weren't letting them score. And that's the mindset and the endeavour and the desire you have to have to keep clean sheets.

“Sometimes we’ve fallen short of that. And credit to the young lad, Gabe Breeze, who has come in [as goalkeeper]. He's been a rock. Harry Lewis has been good for us, but it's not easy when you're sat on the bench and Gabe's been sat on the bench. And now he’s come in and done well.

“You’ve got to give him credit. And Harry Lewis as well, he's still [remained] really positive around Gabe. He's still training very professionally, which is what it's all about in this team. We've got a great bunch of lads, we're doing things right. And it's not a surprise we won, to be honest.

“Salford are a good team, but we're also a good team. We trusted our process and we defended how we should. We stuck in the game – and we should have had more. We had quite a few chances, but yes, we got what we needed.”

Hayden says a settled defensive line in the last couple of games has helped (Image: Ben Holmes)

Where has United’s recent and much-needed resilience come from? “We’ve had the same starting back line twice now. That can help. We're talking, we're communicating. Gabe's come in, he's playing with confidence, coming to claim stuff, which helps.

“I think it’s starting to click.”

The hope is that Saturday’s win proves a defining point in Carlisle’s season. Much work lies ahead but United now have the ability to build on something. “Football's a confidence sport, and you'd be amazed the effect confidence can have on something,” says Hayden.

“It can be the difference between the ball going outside the post or inside the post. And that's starting to build now. It's just started. We've planted the seed now, so we've got to keep watering it and helping it to grow, so we can come to the new year in a good position.”

There must be no getting carried away, the 27-year-old asserts. “Football's about not getting too low and not getting too high, because it's such a rollercoaster,” he says.

“Now it’s like you forget about it and it’s back to work. We’ll come in, prepare, not leave any stone unturned, make sure we train to the best of our ability and make sure we're all fully ready to go and give 110 per cent again at Bromley.

“And that's all you can ever do every week. Tick all your boxes to control what you can control and give yourself the best possibility to win a football game.”

Hayden says United must attack this week with the same intent (Image: Ben Holmes)

Hayden’s outing at Salford was his third since returning to fitness after a month out injured. He says he feels good and ready to keep building on a personal and collective level.

“I'm feeling great, to be honest,” he says. “The pitch was a bit iffy [at Salford], so I started to cramp in the last ten to 15 minutes, started to get a bit tight in the calf. If I wasn’t cramping up so much, I probably would have put that late chance in [a header which he sent into the side-netting] and got there a bit quicker.

“But I feel really good. I feel back to myself.”

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