Carlisle United’s director of football says the decision on whether to extend Steven Pressley’s time as manager will be based on “facts not opinions”.

David Holdsworth also said the club are not “panicking” about the situation in light of recent results and the fact some fans chanted for Pressley’s removal last weekend.

The manager is preparing his side for another massive game in the bid to revive Carlisle’s play-off chances against Bury at Brunton Park tomorrow.

Pressley this week claimed it was “ludicrous” for fans to judge his long-term credentials for the job based on his 12-game spell so far. The Scot, whose deal runs until the end of the campaign, also suggested that clarity over the position would help in terms of forward planning at the club.

Holdsworth did not give a timescale on any decision, a hint that United’s results in the coming weeks are likely to have a major say in what happens.

He said: “We’ve never been in a rush. We have everything prepared to extend Steven’s length of stay here, that’s already in place, but we deal in facts. We have to.

“We don’t have to deal with opinion. Everybody has a different opinion, invariably, and we respect our supporters 100 per cent.

“But there’s no panic. Whatever decision we make regarding the length of contract for anybody will be based on an ability to improve us and take us where we need and want to be.

“Let’s deal in facts. We’ll make a decision whenever we feel it’s necessary to embrace that.”

United have already pledged not to allow the situation to “drag on” as it did last year with the end of Keith Curle’s tenure and the long wait to appoint a successor.

Holdsworth said that, whatever decision is made, the club are now more organised with off-field planning.

“Last year the club was in turmoil, it hadn’t got the ability to put things in place and it dragged on and dragged on, which frustrated supporters incredibly,” he said.

“This year’s different – we are aware of where we want to be, and everything is in hand.

“Pre-season is nearly completed, we have the new kit launch coming up and everything off the pitch is running smoothly.

“When you’re not winning, everybody gets unsettled, but we must be professional and all I can say to the supporters is we know where we need to be, and when we’re ready to do what we need to do we’ll do it.”

United, in ninth position, are three points outside the play-off places with six games to go. They face a third-placed Bury who include ex-Blues favourite Nicky Adams, and who have been facing financial turmoil this week after it was revealed players and staff had not been paid.

Holdsworth, meanwhile, said Pressley had been given “100 per cent support” since his appointment in January.

He also said that, since the transfer window when United have won one game in 10, they have suffered bad luck with injuries to attacking players such as Mark Cullen and Arthur Gnahoua.

He also defended the club’s efforts in the window in that department, after criticism from some fans over the current shortage of attacking options.

Holdsworth said: “The performance at Forest Green [the 1-1 draw on March 16] was outstanding. That first goal and the winning goal is not there at the moment. Not making excuses for anybody, but our main goalscorer who we brought in [Cullen] is injured and Arthur dropped out [with a hamstring injury] in his first game, and they are two players who would have assisted us with goals.

“There’s two [forwards] that are injured. You can’t bring in four, you have to work within your means, and in hindsight, if we had two more options then Steven would be able to field those. But no-one could have done any more than we did regarding Jerry Yates and Ashley Nadesan, up to 10.30pm on transfer deadline day. Nobody could have worked any harder.

“In an ideal world we’d have everybody fit. You have to take the consequences. But there’s no point in us, and Steven, bemoaning that. We got the players in that Steven asked for and couldn’t do any more than that.

“Defensively we haven’t kept a clean sheet, and that’s not down to [goalkeeper] Adam Collin, who’s been outstanding. Defenders have made individual errors and Steven hasn’t had the ability to change it because two of our defenders have been stuck in the treatment room.

He added: “What I will say is that Steven has worked extremely hard with the players. When there is disharmony in the dressing room you can generally see it but we’ve not seen that on the pitch.

“The run we’re on isn’t the best run, but we’re still there. It just shows you how mad this league is.”