John Sheridan has told his Carlisle United players to “grow up” and stop “sulking” when he levels criticism their way.

The manager struggled to hide his frustration at the manner of his team’s exit from the Checkatrade Trophy on Tuesday night.

And Sheridan suggested his players are not hard enough on themselves when they come up short.

He said Carlisle were not “clinical” enough in their 1-1 draw against Stoke’s under-21s.

The Blues boss spoke at length about the situation in a 20-minute post-match press conference.

Sheridan also lamented the fact he could not be as forthright with players as managers could be in previous eras.

“You can’t talk to some of them,” he said. “You’re trying to help them, talk to them, [but then their] head goes down and they start sulking.

“They’re men. Just grow up. Prove me wrong.

“The best manager I played under was the one who moaned at me the most, shouted at me the most and demanded from me the most.

“We haven’t lost the game – we’ve drawn 1-1 and possibly should have won, but I want to get it into them.

“I don’t care if we’re League Two. We could be in the Championship and I’d be the same. It’s the way I am.

“I’m probably turning a bit soft. But the game’s totally changed today. You’ve got to be careful what you say, how you treat them, unlucky this, unlucky that, keep going.

“No. I never had it when I was a player. I had people demanding from me, whether it was my team-mates, a manager, the coach. If you weren’t at it, they got a grip of you. I preferred that. I’ve always preferred it that way.

“Some occasions I really want to have a go, but I’m trying to be clever and keep [the players] on our side. I need them. If I really wanted to say what I wanted to say, half of them wouldn’t be able to deal with it.”

Sheridan was critical of United’s finishing as he described their exit from the controversial Trophy as a missed opportunity.

He felt it was the Blues’ best opportunity to go on a run to Wembley but they came up short against the Potters’ under-21s in front of Brunton Park’s second-lowest crowd of 882.

“We scored a spectacular goal from [Jack] Sowerby but we had three other brilliant opportunities to score,” Sheridan said.

“I hear the crowd go ‘ooh, aah,’ clapping when they miss the target, players clapping, saying ‘unlucky’.

“No, no, no, no. Be strict and have a demand that you should be scoring when you get that chance. And we don’t.

“It absolutely drives me bonkers when someone says, ‘ooh’ and they’re not hitting the target, when we should be clinical. People accept us missing the target. I’m not having it. I’m not having it at all.

“The effort is there but we haven’t been clinical throughout the season. I’m annoyed, because there was an opportunity to get through.”

Sheridan will check on George Glendon ahead of Saturday’s trip to Swindon after the midfielder limped off in Tuesday’s second half with a knee injury.

Hallam Hope’s availability has also yet to be confirmed, with Barbados in action this Sunday.