Last updated at 11:17, Saturday, 28 July 2012

Italian ace Alessio Bugno may have played his way towards a deal with Carlisle United after an eyecatching display on his Brunton Park debut.

Alessio Bugno

The trialist left-back earned a big ovation from Blues fans after he starred in the 1-0 win against St Mirren.

Manager Greg Abbott could not hide his admiration for the 22-year-old and hinted that he could now try to keep Bugno.

Abbott – who pledged to make a decision by Monday – said: “Ali has done ever so well and now we have to make decisions.

“He was comfortable on the ball, showed good pace and good recovery when people went past him, and is a really good size.

“His performance was full of pace, endeavour and some quality. This group of fans show their appreciation when they see something they like and he [Bugno] got that.

“We will talk to everybody on Monday and make a decision. But he was positive and now it’s the tricky bits to sort out.”

Lee Miller’s 53rd minute strike in front of a 1,643 crowd gave the Cumbrians their fifth consecutive win in pre-season, with Abbott’s side still to concede in their programme of friendlies.

But there were other big positives for the Blues boss, including teenage defender Brad Potts, who shone at right-back.

The versatile 18-year-old played the full 90 minutes and impressed against the experienced Buddies side.

Abbott described the youth team product as “outstanding” and said Potts was starting to give him a selection headache.

“I don’t think he put a foot wrong over 90 minutes,” said the Blues manager.

The United boss handed substitute roles to Bugno’s fellow trialists Jon Meades and Dale Hopson, on whom he is also expected to make decisions today.

Former Cardiff defender Meades is understood to have a better chance of a deal than ex-Darlington midfielder Hopson.

Scottish midfielder Mark Kerr, meanwhile, has left the club to pursue options north of the border but former Newcastle attacker Ryan Donaldson – not involved last night – has been invited to spend next week training with the Blues.

Abbott will also monitor the fitness of Danny Cadamarteri and Frank Simek after both missed last night’s game with “minor” injury concerns.

The Blues manager admitted he was impressed with his side’s efforts but warned his players that the tests will get harder, with Middlesbrough the next opponents next Friday.

“It was a real test for us against good quality opposition and we are delighted,” he added.

“Towards the end we had a lot of kids out there and they handled it really well.

“We are looking very, very good but the hard work is still to come.”

First published at 10:52, Saturday, 28 July 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk