Carlisle United manager Paul Simpson is excited about his side’s upcoming fixtures and is urging his players to seize the ‘great opportunity’ by winning this Saturday’s game against promotion rival Northampton Town, writes the Northampton Chronicle.
Simpson’s side faces a huge four days of football, beginning on Saturday against Northampton and continuing against Stockport County on Tuesday night. The Cumbrians currently occupy fourth place in the League Two table, level on points with third-placed Stockport and three behind the Cobblers.
Carlisle has been experiencing somewhat of a wobble in recent weeks, picking up only one win in their last six matches, but Simpson is in a buoyant mood ahead of the crucial run-in. Speaking after the Easter Monday draw with Walsall, he said, “Now we have two brilliant games to look forward to and we have to make sure we’re right for them.”
The Blues’ dip in form doesn’t seem to be concerning their manager, who is looking forward to to his side performing well against their promotion challengers. “We’ve got two games coming up, against Northampton and Stockport, where if we do our job properly at home, which we have done for the majority of the season, in what will be tough games, we can be in a really nice position.”
The former Stockport manager is expecting some twists, turns and interesting results over the coming weeks, “It’s always a tight battle for promotion, that’s how it works out. There are crazy results all over the place. We can only affect ours, we’ve got to try and do everything we possibly can, starting with Northampton on Saturday, trying to get a performance, a result that sets us up for the Tuesday night.”
Simpson, who won the Under 20 World Cup with England in 2017, is looking forward to leading his side into these crunch matches and is relishing the challenge. He added, “It’s absolutely brilliant to be involved in it. This is what you want to be involved in, and we’ve just got to make sure we do it properly. These games don’t need any building up or hyping, we’ve just got to be right.”
Saturday’s opponents Northampton travel to Brunton Park on a run of 4 wins from their last 6, including a late winner at home to Gillingham on Easter Monday. Stockport makes the 2-hour journey north on the same run, having dispatched Newport County 4-0 in their final Easter weekend fixture.
Writer’s View
The battle for automatic promotion from League Two is seriously hotting up and should provide the sorts of twists and turns that keep us all on the edge of our seats. It could be argued that seven teams are fighting for the final two spots, right down to Mansfield Town in 8th due to their potentially crucial game in hand.
The final stretch of the season is sure to be a real nail-biter for those following these teams and one that the neutral will no doubt thoroughly enjoy.