David Holdsworth has responded to fans underwhelmed by Carlisle United’s transfer window by saying he sought to protect the club – and that there is still money to spend.

The director of football, though, insisted he “could not answer” the question of whether any of United’s six-figure income would go towards paying off club debts.

Holdsworth faced the media on Saturday after a transfer window that saw Aaron Hayden and George Tanner sold.

While Carlisle paid a fee for Jordan Gibson, they recouped much more in fees than they laid out on signings.

Holdsworth, asked to respond to claims from some fans that United had not been bold enough in the market with their transfer proceeds, said: “We spent money on Gibson, [although] it wasn’t £1m or anything like that…

“Do you get value for money or go out and actively say, ‘Oh we’ve spent £300k on a player that isn’t worth that’.

“To have good brinkmanship for your club is important to me so we don’t get taken on or spend money unwisely.

“There’s lots of opinions out there and they can stay as opinions from people and if you value them, great. My opinion is we pay for what we do.

“If Chris Beech says David, I want to buy, for instance, a [Paul] Mullin and we need to spend £100,000. I’ll ask the board, no problem.

“Chris has got his targets and some of them, Gibson, we had to pay for, which is fine.

“You’ve got to protect your club. If we get to Christmas and we’re in a healthy place, and if I need to ask [the board] that question, if it’s £100,000 or whatever it may be, I’ll ask that question because I know we’ve got funds.”

Holdsworth said Beech had got the players he wanted in the window.

But he said the question of whether the Hayden and Tanner cash would pay off debts – such as part of the seven-figure sum owed to Purepay Retail Limited – was a question for those above him when asked by the News & Star.

“I would love to tell you and give you the answer. I actually can’t. I’m not a board member,” he said. “It [the answer] would have to come from that area.

“All I’ve done is maximise every deal we’ve had and I know all the funds are healthy. I’m not ducking [the question] and I want supporters to know that but it’s not my place or in my remit, and I don’t have those answers anyway.”

The News & Star has invited United’s Holdings board, which includes the club owners, to respond to the same question.

We also challenged Holdsworth to respond to claims from some fans that United’s window activity had shown a lack of ambition.

He said: “I understand fans always want more and I have total respect for what they want.

“Nobody wants Carlisle to get promoted more than me. I know Andrew Jenkins, who’s been here 61 years in his tenureship, and many supporters have been here a lot longer than I have been.

“I do know this club can go places if it’s run properly, and educating people [and] improving circumstances is something I try to every day.

“We look after players very well. Little investments go a long way.

“I do respect [that opinion]. If there’s a player at Christmas-time Chris needs, I’ll ask that question.

“We’ve managed to bring in players who Chris wanted – that’s the bottom line.”

Regarding the next transfer window, Holdsworth added: “Chris will get support, no problem whatsoever. I think if we can be in the mix and working our socks off, with a tiny bit of luck along the way, then we’ve got a very good squad here.

“If we have to add to it, we’ll do that, because I want to be in the same position we were in last Christmas [when United were riding high in the league].

“That was a real joy, and we didn’t get there by luck. It was through hard work and teams feared us, so we have to try to find that again.

“We can use whatever we get given to bring in. If Chris wants extra we’ll find it. That’s what we do and that’s what I do, because I want us to be successful.”

Holdsworth said he felt United were in a “healthy” shape coming out of the summer window.

It saw Carlisle move late in the day for Jordan Gibson, Kelvin Mellor and Jonathan Dinzeyi after Tanner’s sale to Bristol City for an undisclosed fee understood to be worth about £300,000.

Holdsworth said Tanner had made it clear he wanted to leave, meaning Carlisle had to make the best judgement for the sake of the club.

“George leaving was hard, but fine – we’ve dealt with that very, very well in my opinion.

“No manager wants to lose players but that was the situation and you have to be pragmatic and support the manager, which we have done throughout.”

Asked whether Carlisle could have fended off interest in Tanner, the director of football said that all those United have sold in recent years have been offered improved deals prior to leaving.

“Once a player asks to leave, you have a different scenario,” he said.

“I said to George, ‘Are you sure you want to leave, because it’s healthy here?’

“He’s a good lad, we brought him in for nothing, and he said, ‘I want to go and have an opportunity to play in the Championship’.

“With respect I then have to do what I do, which is get the best amount of money, opportunity and scenario for Carlisle United, and I know – [the terms have] to remain private, that’s confidential in any agreement – that we have maximised everything in those deals.

“Every one of those players who departed wanted to leave and take up the opportunity. Liam McCarron is now on the verge of getting a start, which we will benefit from if he starts for Leeds.

“Jarrad Branthwaite…thank goodness [for that deal], because this club would probably be in a different place [without it].

“Am I happy about it, yeah, because I’ve maximised everything and the board know that.”

Holdsworth, meanwhile, said he could not comment on the succession talks said to be ongoing at Brunton Park.

The director of football is close to Edinburgh Woollen Mill tycoon Philip Day.

Supporters’ trust CUOSC have recently said meetings are being held aimed at resolving the long-term ownership and debt situation at the club.

Holdsworth said: “Like you, I hear certain things but I’m really not the person who can give you those answers, because I’m not on the Holdings board or involved in those conversations.

“I’m purely focused on the deals that have been done and the way forward for Carlisle United, and we do hope it’s a healthy one.”