Chris Beech said he was pleased with the way Carlisle United dealt with pre-match disruptions – including the news of Aaron Hayden’s likely departure.

The Blues started the season with a 0-0 draw against Colchester hours after it emerged Hayden was close to joining Wrexham.

It was a blow to United’s preparations for the new campaign, but Carlisle defended well without their vice-captain with debutant Corey Whelan impressing alongside Rod McDonald at centre-half.

The Blues have not confirmed Wrexham as the interested party in Hayden but it is widely known to be the National League club, who are backed by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny.

A deal is understood to be close, with Beech saying he has prepared a statement which he will share if and when Hayden’s departure is confirmed.

The head coach said Hayden would normally have played in today’s game, but the 24-year-old was not included in the matchday squad.

Beech said: “It’s difficult for everybody concerned, including Aaron. He’s a hard working, honest lad.

“I love him to bits and he’s represented this community on and off the pitch so well. It’s another player I’ve worked with that’s got better; there’s loads of them, and if I look back there’s loads of them like that.

“In terms of how I feel about him going, I’ve prepared a statement which we’ll release and share, but not now straight after the game.

“As a manager, dealing with that, he would 100% have played, so it’s a situation we’ve done very well with.”

United also had to cope with the pre-match loss of Zach Clough, who suffered a tight hamstring in the warm-up and had to be replaced in the XI by Joe Riley.

Kick-off was then delayed by 15 minutes as a ticket system issue meant delays in some fans getting into the ground.

Beech, asked if an immediate priority now was on signing a replacement for Hayden, pointed to the possible loan route.

He said: “We’ve got Lukas Jensen on loan, and we’ve got opportunity anyway [with more loan slots potentially to be filled], but I didn’t want, obviously, the last 24 hours to pan out like it did.

“We’ve just got to wait and see what happens overnight. He wasn’t available for today and maybe we’ll need to try and find another.

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t really sign Corey to be a centre-half but wow, what a performance and what a player.”