Winger John O'Sullivan says he has been putting in extra time on the training ground in order to raise his game for Carlisle United.

The wide man impressed in Tuesday's draw with Luton, boss Keith Curle saying it was his best display since joining in January.

And the 23-year-old, set to face Mansfield tomorrow (One Call Stadium, 3pm), says he won't stop trying to become a better player and help the Cumbrians achieve their ambitions.

O'Sullivan said: "One of the reasons I came here was the gaffer and Dykesy [Lee Dykes] said to me that they will get the best out of me.

"That is not just on the pitch but what I do in training. I stayed back with Dykesy a couple of times this week to practice my crossing, and just running at people.

"That showed [on Tuesday], which I'm happy with.

"People know I'm a bit of a confidence player. Most wingers are. That just comes with working hard.

"The last two weeks and last couple of games I haven't been where I've wanted to be, and I've put in the work behind the scenes, and I'm going to continue to do that to get to the level I know I can be and want to be.

"There's much more to improve on. On Tuesday I beat my man every time but my crosses let me down which I'm a bit disappointed with. But I'll keep working and that will improve."

Fourth-placed United are hoping to close the six-point gap that has opened up between them and the automatic promotion places tomorrow.

Portsmouth have taken advantage of Carlisle's winless run to move clear in third.

Curle, though, is hoping to use Tuesday's better display as a springboard for further improvement, with United having stopped a four-game run of defeats and also ended a club record sequence of 28 games without a clean-sheet.

The manager described the end of the latter run as a "monkey off the back" and said he was pleased with the response of his players to some strong words following last Saturday's home defeat to Cambridge.

The focus will remain on the other end of the team tomorrow, though, with the Blues now hoping to end a five-game scoring drought.

Never before in United's history have they gone six consecutive league games without scoring - while the Stags are also on a four-game goalless run.

Former Blackburn player O'Sullivan, who has made nine United appearances, is remaining upbeat about Carlisle's promotion chances despite recent setbacks.

He said: "It's a massive game on Saturday and we need to start scoring now. We've got our clean sheet, we're working hard, and now we need goals. With the players we have in this team we should be scoring two or three goals a game.

"We're still in a position to challenge. We've got a great chance. At the start of the season, would you take the position we're in now? You probably would, but it's because the lads have done well at the start of the season it just seems a bit of a disappointment.

"But there's no-one in that dressing room that doesn't think we can get promoted.

"We're missing big players who would normally start, but some of the lads who have come in did really well [on Tuesday]. It just shows we're working for each other and willing to stick together."