It has been an interesting week at Carlisle United after John Sheridan’s exit.

Whatever you thought of Sheridan and his departure, having been appointed as Chesterfield boss on Wednesday, you have to say he brought a good brand of football to the club.

At the end of the day, he left with United in the League Two play-offs. 

There is an opportunity now with the position Sheridan has left United in to have a real crack at promotion.

Big striker Connor Simpson joined the Cumbrians from Preston until the end of the season on loan on Wednesday but, with all due respect to him, and good luck to the 18-year-old, but United are in a position now where they need proven League Two players and a proven manager.

Sheridan’s shock resignation last Friday left Tommy Wright and Paul Murray in caretaker charge for the Blues’ 3-2 home win over Mansfield - their sixth straight success. No matter who United’s new manager is, I would like Wright to stay. 

If Carlisle’s board do decide to bring a new man in, though, I would like someone with experience of the lower leagues.

I admire the likes of Murray and Wright for stepping up, but managing a club is quite new to them. I believe there is still a lot for fifth-placed United to go for this season.

There was a crowd of 4,563 at Brunton Park for Carlisle’s win over Mansfield. On Saturday, the fans really got behind managerless United, and got louder and louder as the game went on. They gave two-goal Hallam Hope a great standing ovation when he was substituted. 

But that is more or less the same kind of support that the club have been getting in recent weeks at home in terms of attendance figures. To me, it shows the Blues might need to get promoted to League One to really start to get the crowds coming back.

Gavin Skelton also returned to Carlisle this week to re-take his old job in the academy after he resigned as Workington Reds’ first-team boss after only six days in charge.

The whole situation doesn’t make for particularly good reading, especially when it happen between two Cumbrian clubs.

Tomorrow, United visit Northampton, looking for a seventh straight win and will come up against ex-manager Keith Curle, who left the Blues in May.

I’m sure Curle will be up for a game against his former employers. 

Meanwhile Sheridan’s new club, Chesterfield, are just one of the formerly-established Football League clubs who are struggling in the National League, with the likes of Dagenham & Redbridge, Hartlepool and Barnet also in mid-table. 

It just shows what a good job Paul Simpson did in the 2004/05 season, getting United promoted back into the Football League at the first attempt.

When you look at some of the names of the clubs who are plying their trade in the English fifth-tier, it shows it’s a long way back.