Gilliead and Gillesphey extend loan spell with Blues
Newcastle United pair Macaulay Gillesphey and Alex Gilliead will stay with the Cumbrians until the end of the current season following agreement on the extension of their loan deals between the clubs this week.
Gillesphey, 19, has made five appearances for the Blues since joining last month, including 20 minutes plus extra time in the Capital One Cup third round meeting with Liverpool at Anfield.
He joined the Magpies from Cramlington Juniors in 2011 and signed his scholarship forms the following year. He became a regular in the U21 side having been used at left back and centre back through an impressive period of development.
Gilliead, 19, has also made five appearances and claimed two assists on his senior debut in the 2-2 away draw with York City.
He started his scholarship with the Magpies in 2012 having been spotted playing local football. A fast and explosive forward, who can play wide on the left or right, he made his mark quickly by performing well in both the U18 and Reserve sides. He represented England in the U16 Victory Shield Montaigu Tournament in France and has played for his country at all levels up to U20.
Manager Keith Curle said: "You can tell both lads have got ability. They've gone through the ranks at Newcastle and the next step in their progression was league football.
"They've joined a football club in ourselves which has one eye on youth development. That has been shown with recent youth team players who came through and played a lot of league football before moving up the divisions.
"These lads weren't brought in as projects. They were brought in because they added something to the squad we didn't have."
"Alex has the ability to glide past people and run with the ball," he continued. "I think he's going to be a goalscorer as well. Once he gets that arrogance and confidence he will bring goals to the team, as well as his assists.
"Macaulay was a breath of fresh air when he first came in. He made his debut against Liverpool and showed the defensive qualities that I know are there.
"It's a massive test for him now because he's made a couple of mistakes. How you react to disappointments in this game is the making of you.
"He'll be disappointed with his performance on Saturday, and he'll be disappointed to be at fault for a couple of goals, but it's all about how he responds. We're confident he'll respond in the right way and show us again that he's a very good player."
"They know they've added to their footballing CV during their time with us so far," he told us. "They're being judged as league footballers rather than U21 players, and that's a big step.
"We scouted both players for a number of games and we were surprised we got them to come to a League Two team. In my mind they can both play higher than this.
"They've joined a football club in ourselves which has one eye on youth development. That has been shown with recent youth team players who came through and played a lot of league football before moving up the divisions.
"These lads weren't brought in as projects. They were brought in because they added something to the squad we didn't have."
"Alex has the ability to glide past people and run with the ball," he continued. "I think he's going to be a goalscorer as well. Once he gets that arrogance and confidence he will bring goals to the team, as well as his assists.
"Macaulay was a breath of fresh air when he first came in. He made his debut against Liverpool and showed the defensive qualities that I know are there.
"It's a massive test for him now because he's made a couple of mistakes. How you react to disappointments in this game is the making of you.
"He'll be disappointed with his performance on Saturday, and he'll be disappointed to be at fault for a couple of goals, but it's all about how he responds. We're confident he'll respond in the right way and show us again that he's a very good player."
"They know they've added to their footballing CV during their time with us so far," he told us. "They're being judged as league footballers rather than U21 players, and that's a big step.
"We scouted both players for a number of games and we were surprised we got them to come to a League Two team. In my mind they can both play higher than this.
"We're now looking forward to working with them and watching how they develop this season."
Both players have been granted permission to play for Carlisle United in this season's FA Cup competition.
