GOAL hero Charlie Wyke is today poised to sign a new long-term contract with Carlisle United.

The frontman will finalise a two-and-a-half year extension that will keep him at Brunton Park until the summer of 2018.

The deal follows Wyke's ninth goal of the season which helped the Blues to victory against Accrington Stanley.

Manager Keith Curle said: “I’ve offered Charlie a new contract and he’s agreed to sign.

“His agent has looked over the offer we’ve made him, and agreed it.

“Now it’s just a case of dotting the Is and crossing the Ts on Charlie continuing and developing his progress at the club.”

It is expected that the former Middlesbrough player’s deal will be rubber-stamped either today or tomorrow.

It will cap a successful weekend for the 23-year-old, whose first-half effort set United on the way to Saturday’s 2-0 win.

With Alex Gilliead also on target, Carlisle moved back into League Two’s top half as they moved on from the previous weekend’s FA Cup exit to Everton.

Curle also revealed the recalled Wyke has been battling an injury that limited his involvement in previous weeks.

The United boss said: “Charlie took a knock on his shoulder and had been taking injections.

“Obviously he was disappointed and wanted to be involved [against Everton], when I wanted one up front with raw, genuine pace, which was why Derek Asamoah played.

“But Charlie knows what I think of him.”

The Accrington victory, in front of a 4,709 home crowd, left United three points outside the play-offs with games in hand on most rivals.

Curle said it was vital there was no hangover after the team’s FA Cup efforts.

He said: “I don’t want there to be a lull. Being successful starts with my standards, and I’m not going to let them peter out – if you do that the club goes back to where it was, with an indifferent group on the football side.

“Accrington are a good, lively group, playing with lots of confidence, and it needed to be a good, professional performance.”

Curle will today check on Michael Raynes after he was substituted early after taking a knock to the face.

The manager said Tom Miller was out of the squad with a “slight knock” but hopes the defender and the injured trio of Danny Grainger, Luke Joyce and Bastien Hery will return soon.

Curle also defended visiting boss John Coleman, who was targeted by United’s fans following his December comments about the “unfairness” of Carlisle playing home games away from flood-hit Brunton Park.

Curle said: “As soon as those comments came out, he rang me and said that it hadn’t come across how it was intended.

“I think John’s a very genuine person and I take his explanation as gospel.

“He knew he was going to get attention from the crowd but he conducted himself professionally. He’s very passionate and wants his team to do well. He will accept the banter he got in the right way.”