Carlisle boss Keith Millen asked for United fans to continue to give their full backing to the players, as they have from the moment he arrived to take over the reins at Brunton Park.
“I understand the frustration felt by the fans,” he said. “Fans come to football matches to enjoy seeing their team.
“I want them to come here and enjoy watching us play, winning football matches makes everyone a lot happier – I understand that.
“That’s my message to the fans, to try and stick with us on the pitch. We need them. They’ve been good. Even though we lost, they were clapping the players.
“At Exeter they clapped them off, that’s great. I make sure the players understand and realise that. We appreciate what they’re doing.
“I understand the frustrations, but those frustrations will only hinder what we’re trying to do on the grass. If they can leave them in the bar maybe, then when they come out to watch the game I want them to try to enjoy what we’re doing.”
“I’ve been at so many clubs where there is always some sort of issue,” he added. “I’ve lost track of how many clubs I’ve been to. There’s always something at the club, whether you’re manager, coach, player, where you think it’s not helping.
“I’m not blind to what’s going on, all I know and can control is what’s around me. I can influence the way the players are trying to perform and make sure they give everything for the badge, which is the minimum the fans want to see.
“Generally, if you ask the fans, they’ll say they’ve seen that so far. Some of them might disagree, but I think most fans will agree that the players are really giving it a go. The fans are quite rightly disappointed with the run we’re on and I totally understand that.
“I can control the players giving their all and hopefully the fans will back us. Everyone in the city can help, the fans, the press and the people at the club. I don’t like being surrounded by negative people, I just don’t have time for that, and I can’t understand why people would do that.
“If everyone in Carlisle wants this team to do well, then surely they have to do everything they can to help us rather than go against what we’re trying to achieve. If we want to try and create a positive atmosphere, then everyone has to be part of it.
“That’s me, the players, the club, the board, the fans, press and everyone. Winning football matches obviously makes everyone a lot happier, and that’s what we’re going to try and do on Saturday.”
And the manager accepted that the responsibility is on the team to produce the type of performance the fans can get behind from the moment the first ball is kicked.
“Without a doubt, you don’t need me to agree with you on that one,” he said. “A good part of that would be for us to get that first goal to give everyone a lift.
“I think everyone would know that’s an issue for us at the moment, but we have to look at the best way of creating chances and scoring goals. It’s ok to say we need to score the first goal, but it’s how we’re going to do it that matters.
“It’s creating the chances, what movement we’re going to have in and around the box – those are the sorts of things you have to work on in training and on a day-to-day point of view.
“I’ve watched the video from Tuesday again, we’ve gone through all the clips. They had the header in the first half and the two goals, but we had a lot more chances and opportunities. We’ve looked at all of them.
“The disappointing thing, I didn’t really see after the game, so having looked at the video, was the manner of the two goals we conceded. They disappointed me when I saw them again.
“It’s gone against what we’ve been working on since I arrived at the club. We were too open. People make mistakes, give the ball away – I’ve got no problem with that. It’s making sure we have a structure behind it so teams can’t break on us and score a soft, easy goal.
“Both of them were poor. We’ve reminded them of that. That’s one thing we’ve been very good at, we’ve looked very solid. Any team can have a solid foundation, it gives you a good chance of winning the game, or worst case drawing 0-0.
“I made sure they understand we have to get back to those basics.”
