Carlisle United directors last night revealed the Blues subcontracted out their scouting to agencies until recently.

It has emerged that Blues did not have their own scouting team on the books for several years.

That has recently changed, with former United manager Greg Abbott brought in as head of recruitment.

His appointment followed comments from manager Paul Simpson when he noted that there had not been a recruitment structure in place when he took charge at Brunton Park in February.

Directors were questioned on the subject by supporters at a fans’ forum last night, in light of Simpson’s remarks in recent months.

And chief executive Nigel Clibbens went on to shed light on how United had scouted players in recent times.

“Every club has a different way of recruiting players, and yes, Paul did say there was no recruitment process,” Clibbens said.

READ MORE: Carlisle United directors fans' forum - as it happened!

“How did we get players in? It was simple, really. Throughout the time David [Holdsworth, former director of football] was here, although not specifically due to him, the recruitment was supposed to be manager-led.

“Managers identified the players, and David did the deals.

“What the club did to try and assist the manager [was that] in terms of watching players, the club subcontracted scouting out.

“We hired out to scouting agencies and paid them to watch players and make recommendations. That’s how it worked.

“David didn’t go to games to watch players. He was at every single game, home and away, watching our team.

“Paul will say it isn’t possible for a manager to manage a team, with all the issues that go with it, and then be responsible for the recruitment as well.

“That’s why he’s come in and said that doesn’t work, and we need a recruitment structure, which we have built and is working now.”

Abbott rejoined the club two weeks ago and is at the forefront of United’s summer recruitment efforts, which started with last week’s signing of Annan Athletic midfielder Owen Moxon.

Simpson said Abbott was also putting together a team of part-time scouts who would help United scour the market for players.

READ MORE: Carlisle United's Paul Simpson: Why Greg Abbott was my top choice as new head of recruitment