United head into the weekend with their second pre-season fixture to look forward to as they head west to face Danny Grainger’s Workington side at Borough Park.
Speaking about the game at his weekly press conference, manager Chris Beech said|: “It’s one we want to play because they’re one of our local clubs, and it’s a link that has been good over the years.
“I want to maintain that. Covid has made it more difficult this time, but it’s a game we’re looking forward to. It’s another chance for us to get game time for players and for us to look at a few things. They’ll give us a good game and a test, and that’s what you want from every game you play, whoever the opposition is.
“Tuesday was interesting because I was able to see how some of our younger players coped. It’s good to have a look at the younger players in that environment. It was evident at Fleetwood that their younger players were pretty strong, while ours have to catch up more.
“It’s not a criticism, it’s a fact. I’ve got to protect our club by winning games. So, we have to make sure that while we look to try and encourage everybody getting on the pitch, we’ve got to make sure it’s a reason we’re heading towards.”
The weekend will give the coaching staff the opportunity to take another look at trialists Joe Fryer and Junior Mondal, who played 60 minutes and 90 minutes respectively at Poolfoot Farm.
“Joe had a horrific injury and he needs to recover,” the gaffer said. “He’s a great character, he lives in the north east and he can access Carlisle with ease.
“He’s represented himself well in the past, from what people I speak to say, and he came to the fore in his early games even though he didn’t play that many times. It’s really unfortunate that he’s in this position because if he hadn’t been injured, he probably wouldn’t be here on trial. He’d probably be playing for Middlesbrough.
“We’ve looked at loads of keeper options, if I’m going to be honest. Fleetwood are looking for goalkeepers, Salford are … if you can give me more money than they’ll pay I can get another one tomorrow.
“You have to make sure you’re looking at the right ones for the right reasons. So, we’ll see. It’s a timing, coming together of finance. But we do need another one.
“Junior has also been training with us, and you’ll see two, three or four more new faces in the coming weeks because there are players who are looking for contracts and jobs.
“That’ll be happening a bit more at different clubs because I don’t want to get too many trialists. It dilutes the message and it’s been an important part of our strategy that we got the players we wanted into the building.
“I feel my difference is working with players, so having a lot of trialists and different people then coming together before the season starts isn’t something I’d be good at. It’s just not me. We’ve done it this way round, but there will be two or three more.”
Click HERE to watch an interview with Chris Beech on iFollow United now.
Click HERE to see a clip from this interview on our YouTube channel. Follow the same link for more FREE content right from the heart of the club.
