Carlisle United director of football David Holdsworth says the club have identified “Plan B” targets in case their bid to retain their key loan players fails.

The Blues are hopeful of keeping Jerry Yates and Jack Sowerby for the season, though Ashley Nadesan is expected to leave.

Talks are continuing between the respective clubs and Holdsworth said: “We’re very close, very positive.

“Given the players are enjoying themselves, being treated correctly and professionally here, we would like to continue those.

“We’re making sure we’ve got a strong squad going into the new year. Sowerby is here to the end of January, so there’s no rush there, but I’ve spoken to Fleetwood.

“We’re respectful of the parent clubs but we’ve got a Plan B should they not come to fruition.”

Holdsworth said United would “never say never” regarding Nadesan but said the striker had attracted other interest and it was more likely that United would lose out to a club able to pay a fee.

He added that United had done their “homework” on other players and had two definite January targets in mind. “There’s two we’ve identified who we feel will be able to benefit the team and squad,” Holdsworth said.

United could finalise an extended deal for keeper Louis Gray this week while Holdsworth said he remained optimistic of agreeing a longer stay with defender Anthony Gerrard.

The director of football also did not rule out possible departures of out-of-favour players as United seek to wheel and deal in the transfer window. He said: “That could happen. It’s the same as any club, when you’ve got players out of contract in the summer, and we’ve got to have one eye on next season.

“There may be one or two boys not getting a game, who [are looking to the future], and want to look after their family, and I understand that.

“I can virtually guarantee that. But all the boys are under contract and we have to make sure our sights are on continuity.

“We’ll have to wait and see over the next few weeks. I’m very open-minded. If there’s a deal that needs to be done we’ll do it, but it’s also about being patient.”

Holdsworth said United wanted to keep their best players whose contracts are in their final months, and said he would assess the situation after the January window has closed. He also urged players to continue to perform to a high standard to strengthen their case for deals.

He added: “We need to keep our best players, and we want to. [But] also they’ve got to earn those contracts.

“The days of two and three-year contracts at this club have gone at the moment.

“The most important thing is those players are putting their hearts on their sleeve, playing for the badge, and once the window has gone I can reflect on that and say we’ll be economically correct, know where we are with financial outlay for the rest of the season, and turn that into positives.”

On potential January moves, he added: “I’d like to get the business done as quick as possible for John [Sheridan]. But sometimes when you’re trying to shop in the right place, it’s got to be relevant to us and we’ve got to make sure we’re not getting ripped off or played by other clubs.”

He also said United were aware of players at other clubs who may look to terminate their current deals in January in order to become available.

Speaking at a directors' press conference, chief executive Nigel Clibbens added that United’s change of financial approach this season meant there was some “contingency” in the budget, despite crowds having fallen.

This, he said, is in contrast to their previous approach of spending close to their limit under salary cost protocol rules on players at an early stage.

“We can look more flexibly and absorb some ups and downs without it being crisis time,” he said. “It doesn’t mean there’s cash all over the place and we have to be careful with it.

“When players go we’ve got to replace them with the best we can.”

CUOSC director Jim Mitchell added there was “a fair chance there’s a flexibility to find a couple of decent strikers” in the event of Nadesan departing.

Clibbens, meanwhile, said there was “nothing new” regarding the potential for ownership succession, with Edinburgh Woollen Mill still yet to confirm any longer-term plans.

He added: “The club is getting in a better shape for anyone who wants to take it on. It’s far less risky than it was a year ago and it’s taken tough decisions to make it more sellable and investable.

“But there’s no change [in terms of possible takeover]. I’ve had one person come in and say to us he was interested in a club, and he’d been to a number of clubs, he knew we were available for sale and we met and discussed it, but nothing’s come of that.

“People know the club is there to be taken. The steps we’re taking, it’s in a far better shape on and off the field than it has been.”

Clibbens said United continued to receive financial “support” from EWM and chairman Andrew Jenkins. “Any money that comes in, it tends to get swapped for equity, so the debt doesn’t become a mountain,” he said.

“If we don’t have the support externally, to go with the fans’ support, the alternative would be bleak. So we have to be realistic about things.”

He said the club’s spending levels still require their help despite last summer’s change of approach. “If your gates [also] then fall short of what you predicted and hoped for, that will continue.

“If we were to operate on what the club could afford on its own, the budget would have to go down again and there comes a point where it makes it really difficult.

“We’re a long, long way from that. We can’t compromise the long-term future of the club on hopes and dreams to get over the line, we’ve got to be very realistic. No-one would thank us for that.”

Mitchell underlined CUOSC’s view that they believe it would benefit fans if EWM spoke about their intentions.

He added: “It’s clear to me that they will not at this point in time, and maybe not ever make any public pronouncement on that.

“They might surprise us but it’s crystal clear there’s a disinclination to do that in the present.

“It would be better if it wasn’t like that. But we can’t deny the financial backing we’ve received from EWM has been vital to us being in the position we currently are.”

Clibbens said improving home form and hence home crowds was a way of delivering immediate help to the budget.

He said the ownership change some fans craved always takes longer to deliver.

The chief executive, meanwhile, said he felt some of the good things United do risk being “drowned” by the focus on “negativity”.

He cited a host of things achieved in the last week, including the Junior Blues Christmas party attended by more than 160 children, the Jigsaw Children’s Hospice initiative that saw United help send a teenager on a dream trip to London, and the number of kids at Saturday’s game both in the community stand and on the pitch at half time.

He also highlighted the revamp in the Blues Store, the appointment of new fan liaison officer Geoff Weston, CUOSC’s foodbank initiative, a partnership with Hospice at Home to arrange the collection of Christmas trees and meetings with business colleagues.

“All of these things have happened in seven days, and all are great things,” Clibbens said. “It’s what a community club should be about.”

He also pointed out some improvements on the pitch compared with last season.

“We’re two places better off than we were, we’ve got more points and we’re closer to the play-offs,” he said.

“Yes, we’ve missed opportunities against teams we should have done better against and points have gone away.

“Against the top 10 last season we won one in 20. This season we’ve won four already. We’re competing with the best in the league. I know we’ve struggled against some of the lesser lights.

“We’re third best away from home, but 17th best at home. Home is where the bread and butter is. We know there are challenges, but sometimes the negativity can overwhelm a lot of the good things.”

Clibbens, meanwhile, said United would be paying for some refreshments for travelling United fans at Crawley this weekend.

He said there were no current plans for a fans’ forum but said the club had typically held them at the start and end of a season rather than in the middle.

Asked why United would be releasing their 2017/18 accounts as late as March 2019, he said: “We had the discussion at a recent board meeting, and the view of the board was to continue to file at the same time every year. The directors think that’s consistent.

“Whether they’re six months, nine months, whatever, they’re out of date, as a tool to form any view they’re a historical record.

“Given the club has moved on so radically since the period these referred to, that’s even more so this year.”

Clibbens was also asked by the News & Star about recent comments by businessman Kevin Dobinson at a supporters’ group meeting in which he claimed “ownership issues” were deterring potential sponsors.

“I don’t think he said anything that anybody would deny or should be a surprise,” Clibbens said.

“Whilst not every single fan talks about it to me, they do talk to me about it and I know of some fans who I’ve met, and they’ve said, ‘that’s me done’.

“How you fix that is down to each individual. For a lot of the people in that boat, I feel having spoken to them it’s a very black and white issue, no shades of grey. It’s ‘no change, no come back’.

“But for others, if the club can do things in a different way, and they can grow to trust the club a bit more, some of those may come back into the fold.

“That equally applies to businesses as it does to fans on the terraces. We’ve got to do all we can get to get every fan to come to our games, because it’s vital.”

Clibbens was asked about views expressed on social media suggesting the way the club was run was a main reason some fans were not returning.

“I saw a bit on social media about that, and we can’t live in a bubble, we’ve got to live in the real world,” he admitted.

“For some supporters – one is too many in my book – that is an issue. It’s not something I can control, or the people day to day. What we can do is build a club that is sustainable, successful and something we can be proud of.

“Day to day that’s what we’re focused on. We want as many fans [as possible] to come and support their club. Even if they are disgruntled, they love their club and want to see us successful.

“All we can do is do the things that make the club better. In time, if you’re a good club that’s sustainable, you’ve got more chance of changing your ownership, because you’ll attract people who want to be part of it rather than people who say, 'that club’s in trouble, there’s a bit of an opportunity there'.”