This is far from the first time in this column that I find myself praising John Sheridan for absolutely nailing his post-match interview.

In the media we are so used to having to dig a little deeper to get to a manager’s thoughts, to look past the bull in order to figure out what a performance really was, yet Sheridan again told it as it was and my own view about Saturday’s defeat to Morecambe was that the Carlisle players needed to be a bit braver on the ball.

I would rather see a player give it away through trying something, like Jamie Devitt sometimes does - that risky ball that can open up a defence - than see the team keeping the ball, passing it to a certain point, but not really getting anywhere.

I’ve always been suspicious about using too many stats in football. It’s very easy to talk about certain stats without putting them into context.

You can have stats on which players have run the furthest, for example, but if you are 2-0 up away from home you don’t have to run as much. You sit in, as Morecambe did, and contain.

Equally, there might have been Carlisle players whose stats for completed passes on Saturday were good. But if you watched the game you will have seen that many of those completed passes were just going from left to right, full-back to full-back, centre-half to centre-half, without it going forward to dangerous effect.

I was pleased to hear Sheridan saying similar things afterwards. He talked about bravery, saying the players need to embrace playing at home.

That’s how you should feel about turning out at Brunton Park. You have worked hard all week for this occasion, and it shouldn’t bring any trepidation.

I bet, in training, there are people nutmegging each other, flicking the ball around corners and generally showing a lot of confidence, but it is all about doing it on a Saturday.

I know some people find it different in front of a crowd. The pressure gets to them, or they are so focused on keeping their place that they just want to be seen to be doing the right things rather than taking too many risks.

This is where that word bravery comes in. It is not about smashing into tackles - it is about showing the mental bravery Sheridan aluded to.

He mentioned Liam McCarron as an example of a player showing bravery with the ball, and the teenager certainly did that in his 25 minutes or so after coming off the bench.

At the end of the day, every kid who comes on should be like that. There should be no pressure on his shoulders at this stage of his career.

The test will come in a couple of years’ time, when expectations are higher, a defender is getting the better of him and he might not be having his best game.

That will call for a different kind of bravery. At the minute, he essentially has a free pass - and you can’t deny that the 17-year-old looks a player.

He showed some great ability in Saturday’s closing stages, was very positive in everything he did, and hopefully he will keep doing things that way.

Sheridan is right in saying that other players should be looking towards McCarron as an example. It shouldn’t take a lad of his age to be the spark, but at the same time it’s great for the youngster that he can have that effect.

It’s more important, though, that Sheridan looks to the players he has brought in and those he inherited -the many more senior players he has - to perform that role.

You can see and understand the manager’s frustration. He saw Carlisle beat Oldham away and, like the rest of us, was surely thinking we can be right up there if we get these home wins.

And Carlisle are still up there, still in touch with the play-off places despite dropping all these points. That makes it even more frustrating. It is League Two all over and how do you prepare for this, when you know a player might be on fire one week and miles off it the next?

Ultimately, you are not a bad team if you are going to Bury and Oldham and winning. I don’t feel Carlisle are a bad team. They have some good players.

The home form issue, though, needs to be put right. It might be in their heads now after four games without a goal but I’d still bet they are looking forward to the trip to Macclesfield this weekend and confident of getting something. Even at leaders Lincoln next Tuesday, would it amaze you if Carlisle went to Sincil Bank and nicked a point, or better? Not the way their away form has been going.

Sheridan’s teams seem to go out to win the game earlier than a Keith Curle side, which looked to assess the situation for longer first. That probably means we will see more defeats but also more wins. It is more of an all-or-nothing approach and it makes for a fascinating season.

Other than Lincoln, and maybe Exeter, I don’t see many really good teams in this division who will pull ahead.

For the rest it is a case of who can put any sort of run together for long enough. This is the frustration with Carlisle at the moment but the fact they are still in touch means there is still a perfectly good opportunity to put things right.

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It was the news we knew was going to come one day, but hearing that Tony Hopper had tragically passed away was still a shock to many.

It is hard to prepare yourself for news like that and I'm not sure many people were fully expecting to hear what very sadly was announced last Wednesday morning.

There have been so many people speaking fondly of Tony over the last few days, and so many people wishing the family well.

When someone passes away you often hear people talking about what a great person they were, that nobody had a bad word to say about them, but with Tony you know it is genuinely the case.

He was known for going about all his business in the right way, for being a great servant to every club he played for, and for never being a moment's trouble to any manager he worked under.

When his playing days ended, he remained someone who enjoyed watching and following Carlisle, and was also known as a real family man.

On top of that, it goes without saying that he faced his illness with a massive amount of bravery and dignity, as did his family and all those close to him.

I'm sure there were a few more supporters than would normally have been there on Saturday, because they wanted to pay tribute to him.

The minute's applause before kick-off was very emotional and it was nice to see the Morecambe fans joining in.

It is also good that the club gave several of his family tickets for the game, hosting them and allowing them to relax at Brunton Park and, hopefully, see what other people thought of Tony.

There was a second ovation in the 42nd minute and it left you in no doubt how admired he was.

You would like to hope that brought his family a bit of comfort at the end of what must have been a very tough week for them all.

Chris Lumsdon's column is sponsored by Safe & Sound Security Solutions (UK) Limited. Enquiries@safeandsoundsecurityltd.co.uk, Tel 01228 543800, www.safeandsoundsecurityltd.co.uk