Paul Simpson: "We're favorites to go down, but that's no different to last year"

The meteoric rise of Carlisle could continue this weekend as they host Fleetwood in their first league 1 match in over a decade.

2 seasons ago the club were looking down the barrel of relegation from league 2, a death sentence for many clubs before, then along came Paul Simpson.

The manager saved the club that season, before guiding them to the league 2 play-off finals last season where they bet a favored Stockport side in penalties.

This year isn't about heroics though, according to the manager, it's about staying in the league and cementing their position long term.

He said: "It's far too early to make any assumptions of what's going to go on. We're coming into it and nobody really knows what our teams going to be like, I don't know what Fleetwood are going to be like on Saturday.

"It's about learning as you go along, we've just got to be ready for the first game. We've got to do everything we can to get off to a winning start, I always think that first win is so important for confidence and belief, not just for the players and staff, but for the supporters.

"We want to continue showing togetherness and continue to surprise people.

"I've been told we're favourites to go down, but that's no different to last year, we were tipped to go so that's the reason I keep my money in my pocket and don't go gambling.

"If we're good enough we'll stay up, if we're not we'll have to take that on the chin."

Within the blues fanbase though confidence is high for a solid finish to the season.

Liam Barton from the Blue Army podcast said: "The team hasn't won anything since a decade, and this is the first time that the new population of the city have had a winning team with them.

"I would love promotion, do I think it's realistic, A little bit of me does. I love Carlisle United and I love Paul Simpson, and there's something in the messiah that we can't deny. When you've got that kind of magic you just don't know how high he can take you.

"There's so many good teams in the division this year though, Portsmouth, Charleton, Derby the list goes on, so many good teams, it's going to be incredibly hard to get anywhere near the top six."