Last updated at 11:53, Tuesday, 21 February 2012

Greg Abbott accused his blundering Carlisle United side of “defending like Subbuteo men” in their stinker at Brentford and blasted: It’s just not good enough.

Carlisle players show their frustrationk as Brentford score

The Blues’ televised 4-0 hiding in London has left Abbott today pledging changes to his faltering back line.

Manager Abbott says the error-strewn display at Griffin Park in front of the Sky Sports cameras highlighted leaks at the back which are putting his side’s play-off ambitions in peril.

The Bees picked off Carlisle with ease last night as Harlee Dean, Sam Saunders and Saido Berahino (two) pounced on mistakes.

And Abbott – who subbed Lubo Michalik after Berahino had fired in Brentford’s fourth – was fuming at the manner of the home side’s goals.

“They were cheap – they didn’t have to work hard or put us under much pressure to get them,” he said. “The first goal is Adam [Collin] mistiming it, the second goal was a mistake from Lubo [Michalik], the third one has seen Frankie [Simek] get caught under the ball and the fourth we are playing like statues, like Subbuteo men.

“I have got to do something about that. I can’t accept it.”

It was United’s third 4-0 hammering on the road this season as they failed to leapfrog sixth-placed Stevenage and enter the play-off places.

Carlisle remain seventh but Stevenage, two points ahead and with a vastly superior goal difference, now have two games in hand.

“The players kept going, but it is not good enough,” Abbott added. “It’s not enough for a team that has got ambitions of being in the top six to say that we kept going. That should be a given.

“Defensively we have to start looking at different ways to keep clean sheets or keep it down to at least one. We are conceding nearly two a game at the moment and it is always going to be tough to win most games from that position.”

The Blues manager added: “The first 30-odd games have been fantastic and put us in a position where we can challenge. But we need to improve quickly, otherwise we will fade into mediocrity.”

First published at 11:28, Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk