Keith Curle said he called a meeting with his players in the build-up to Carlisle's 1-1 draw at Morecambe after picking up on "discontent" in the dressing-room.

United's boss said some of the "distractions" inside the club had unsettled his squad.

Curle was not specific about the exact issues raised by players.

But with several of them still facing uncertainty over their futures - along with the manager himself - Curle said he needed to address the matter.

It came towards the end of a week which had also seen a directors' fans' forum at Brunton Park.

Curle said: "I live locally, so I'm aware of the distractions, and the players live locally - they are all online, on Twitter, they're all aware of the messageborads and everything like that.

"Players do talk, changing rooms do talk, and I was made aware of it by one of my staff, saying there are whispers, whisperings, slight discontent, 'he said this, he said that, what did he mean by this, why did he say this'.

"I don't shy from it or hide from it. I identify that I've got a changing room of players who've got anxieties, fears, mortgages, responsibilities, and they want to know from me as many answers as I can give them.

"Sometimes I have to give them that platform, to be prepared to ask me. All I can do is give them the honest answers that I can give them, with the information I've got."

Curle said players were asked to write down their questions, so those raising particular concerns and anxieties were not identified in the meeting.

He said, though, that it was an "open forum".

Curle added: "I answered every question honestly, with the information available to myself, and also then reminding them of their responsibilities as professionals.

"They are contracted professionals and, with that, have a responsibility.

"I have never, and will never, doubt the character of the changing room - the honesty, belief, pride and passion the players are showing."

United's play-off hopes, meanwhile, are hanging by a thread after Jamie Devitt's free-kick was cancelled out by Callum Lang's equaliser at Morecambe.

The frustrating draw, which left them five points adrift of the top seven with three games remaining, came in front of a superb 1,851 travelling support, which made up more than half the crowd at the Globe Arena.

Curle said: "I'm disappointed for them. They turned out in their numbers.

"What I will say is they stayed and clapped the players - they understand things aren't going our way but it's not for the want of effort or desire to represent them and their football club."

On United's inability to make their pressure count against Jim Bentley's side, the Blues boss added: "We've lost that ability to force a goal. Being honest, it comes with not having the fundamentals in place in certain roles whereby we need to be able to able to build up our play and get territorial advantage.

"Some of our play was good but the fundamentals let us down, to build momentum to get us consistently up the pitch and then be more creative in and around their goal."