Carlisle United currently sit 24th in League Two, following a disastrous campaign where they’ve only won 6 times in 36 outings. The Cumbrians sit 9 points from safety as their league status slowly evaporates, despite that statistic, the manager still believes though. Goalkeeper Gabe Breeze has been a rare shining light and is currently keeping ex-Bradford City goalkeeper Harry Lewis out of the side. Back in February, The Blues form would cost ex-boss Mike Williamson his job, with Welshman Hughes replacing him. The former Bantams man has picked up 6 points since his appointment including the win in the derby as Carlisle beat Barrow 1-0 at the end of February.
Speaking to the media ahead of this weekend’s game against shock package Bromley who sit 11th but have been in and around the playoff picture for much of the season, Hughes was asked for his message to supporters who are losing faith in United’s chances, he said to the Carlisle News & Star: “Don’t lose hope – until it’s confirmed then you never lose hope.
“That’s the way I view it.
“We’re going with the intention of winning our next game and we’re more than capable of doing that.”
If Hughes and Carlisle can somehow avoid the drop, it would most definitely be a ‘Great Escape’ type of story. The best the Cumbrians can hope for this Saturday is to cut the survival gap to six points, should they beat Andy Woodman’s 11th-placed Bromley and third-bottom Tranmere Rovers lose at Fleetwood Town. Interestingly, Both sides have the same goal difference too. This scenario coupled with a defeat for Morecambe would have both teams in the bottom two sitting on 30 points as both look to find a good run of results. Both Tranmere and Morecambe have conceded more but the goal-shy Blues have scored just 26, the divisions lowest. This will have to change.
But a third straight defeat for the Cumbrians, coupled with a third-straight win for improving Tranmere, would extend the gap to 12 ahead of next Tuesday’s home clash with MK Dons. Since arriving, Hughes has tried a number of different players and formations as he looks for that ‘sweet spot’.
The head coach, who saw his side beaten 2-1 by AFC Wimbledon last weekend, continued: “Every opportunity that we pass up, which [was] my feeling on the game [last weekend], is going to make our job even harder.
“We need just to focus and be ready again and learn from what we did or didn’t do, and then make sure that we’re significantly better the next time out.
“We’ve got two more home games to come. We need to get maximum points.”
“We’ve tried pretty much everything,” Hughes added. “For the most part, some combinations have been OK, but then you always will try and improve on your level of performance.
“It could be that [against Bromley] we look and just make sure that we have that platform that we’ve had in recent games, and become more difficult to beat, and then take a chance at the top end of the pitch when they present themselves.”
The double header at home this week as they welcome both Bromley and MK Dons could prove to be pivotal. It is then a tough trip to South Yorkshire at the end of the month to face Doncaster Rovers. Realistically, Carlisle will need to get at least 6 points from this run of games, to even think of survival. One thing is for sure though, the board and management team are not giving up until its a mathematical impossibility. The previous match between the two ended in a 1-1 draw in November. This result wouldn’t be a total disaster but a win will have the fans belief slowly and cautiously returning.
