Carlisle City are heading into the new campaign in positive mood – after some “elite” pre-season coaching from Paul Simpson.
The Northern League Division One campaign gets under way on Saturday when Dan Kirkup’s City host Shildon at Gillford Park.
And their preparations for 2025/26 have been boosted by several weeks working with former Carlisle United boss Simpson on the training pitch.
He has been helping Kirkup and assistant Mark Boyd on a voluntary basis whilst preparing to start a new job next month.
Manager Kirkup says the benefits of Simmo’s work have been considerable.
“Having Simmo in has been brilliant for the players to learn from, and for me and Skip [Boyd] to take tips from,” Kirkup told the News & Star.
“Some good stuff has been coming out of it in our pre-season games.
“We’ve still got him [Simpson] for another four weeks until he heads off, which is great for us.
“He's keeping away from matchdays – he didn't want to step on anyone's toes, which is fair enough. He's just literally training and takes a step back from games.
“When he called me all those weeks ago, I genuinely didn't know what he wanted. I hadn’t spoken to him for a while, since he lost his job at Carlisle [last August].
“When he offered his services, asking if he could come back in just to get his hand back in before he starts his new job, I obviously jumped at the chance.
“What an opportunity for me and Skip – and the players have just thrived off it. You can see the eliteness he brings around every session. The lads have upped their standards. They've probably never had anyone like Simmo coaching them before. Everyone's really bought into it, which is great.
“Skip and I were watching him take the session the other night and we were just like, ‘What is he doing our back pitch here?!’ From what he's done in the game, he's come to Gillford Park where we’ve got mixed balls and barely got a set of bibs amongst us – but he just cracks on with absolutely no problem.
“He’s done a lot of work on the shape that we want to play, on how we want to get more bodies forward and score more goals. It's really come out in games quite quickly.
“I didn’t pack pre-season with loads of games. With 11 games to play from the end of July to August, I tried to limit the friendlies – and I thought it would be a lot more beneficial having Simmo training us than playing a game.
“Hopefully that strategy works. It’s given me and Skip a great platform to build from, and the lads have turned out in big numbers at training, which is pleasing enough because at our level you can have people crying off in the last minute because of work.
“I feel like the switch has just flipped and it's a little bit more professional than it has been.”
City hope to get off to a positive start in a season that begins with a hectic August, by the end of which they will already have played 11 games in league and cup.
Kirkup is pleased with the additions he has made to his squad this summer as the Carlisle club try to progress from last season’s 18th-placed finish.
“We’re pleased to get Jordan Palmer back from Kendal, we've got Jordan Holt back from Gretna, we've got Liam Studholme, Kelvin James, Lee Graham – and I've just come across a centre-half in Tom Short, who's been in the pro game, working at Burnley and Bristol Rovers in S&C [strength and conditioning] roles.
“He just asked to come along and train, and he’s everything I’ve been looking for as a centre-half – a big lad, an organiser, and he can play. What a find he’s been.
“We’ve lost Keelan Leslie to Workington but we’ve kept everyone else, which is good.”
Kirkup is also looking forward to working alongside Boyd, who linked up with City as assistant this summer.
“I think I've been on the phone to him more than I've spoken to the family,” joked Kirkup. “We're literally never off the phone.
“I've known him for years. When I was a young boy, he was captain of Southport when I went on loan, and he looked after me.
“He's someone I've been in touch with in the game for 20 years. I work with Skip and Lummy [Chris Lumsdon] with our coaching business, and when Jake Simpson went to Kilmarnock at the end of last season, I was looking for someone – and Skip said he fancied getting back into it.
“Being out of the game for a while, he’s got so much energy for it. He's throwing himself right into it, and his enthusiasm has rubbed off on me as well.
“It can drain you down, part-time management, when you've got to work and all your home life. He's put some real energy into me, which is great.”
City ended last season with silverware, as they lifted the Fred Conway Cumberland Cup, but Kirkup admits there is clear room for improvement overall as he begins his second season at the helm.
“We’ve got to be better in the league. There's no getting away from that,” he said. “We've got to finish higher than what we did.
“I would take the cup runs again. We want to win the Cumberland Cup every year, and I would snap your hand off if we were offered another good run in the FA Vase.
“The schedule doesn’t help, with trekking to the north east on Tuesdays at silly times, and I feel results reflected that last year. But I feel we’re in a better position to cope this season with more bodies in.
“I don't want to go and say we're going to finish in the play-offs, but we want to do as well as we can.”
Kirkup, meanwhile, says he is reluctant to play again himself despite making a handful of appearances last season. “I think the boots are firmly hung up now,” he said. “I've joined in a few sessions and I'm feeling really old…”
City’s opening game sees them take on one of the division’s fancied sides in Shildon, who finished second last season.
“It couldn’t be any more difficult,” Kirkup said. “It’ll be between them and Newcastle Blue Star to win the league, I guarantee that.
“But it might not be a bad time to get one of the big boys at home. They might not be quite firing straight away, they might not have all the players in that they want to get in.
“It's a bit of a free hit at home. We've got to go and have a go at them. Why not go and try and take them on and cause a shock?”
City are hoping as many fans as possible will back them in the new season, with some Friday night football also on the agenda in a bid to boost crowds.
“We need the city to come out and help us out,” Kirkup said.
“This year we're going to try a few Friday night games, which might boost the crowd because I know in the north east the crowds on a Friday night are absolutely booming.
“We need support. We need backing to keep going at this level. There are costs, and it's not easy.
“I’m looking forward to it all again,” he added. “I think in my first season as manager, the emotions were something I had to learn about. I couldn't quite deal with a loss – I was down for days. But then on the other side, I think I got too high with the wins.
“The emotions were so up and down and it really took it out of me. I was questioning myself, asking, ‘Can I do this? Can I keep going?’ I was taking everything home and there were sleepless nights.
“I can’t think what the elite managers at the top level are actually like. I'm like that at this level.
“I just need to keep my emotions intact and keep on the level. I think I've got some good people around me. Skip knows the game. He's very calm as well, and I’m sure that will help.”
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