Manager Steven Pressley says he will wrap his injury-hit Carlisle squad in cotton wool ahead of their massive final game at Yeovil next weekend.

The Blues’ play-off hopes are still alive after Saturday’s 4-2 win against Crawley.

United will need to win against the relegated Glovers and hope other results go their way – with Newport’s game against Oldham on Tuesday night also set to have a major say in the race for seventh.

Carlisle may be outsiders to sneak into the play-off places but Pressley says one “mad” afternoon could yet go in their favour.

He wants to ensure he has enough fit bodies as possible, Callum O’Hare the latest concern with a head injury and other players suffering from cramp in Saturday’s win.

Pressley said: “We’ll have to wrap them in cotton wool, and this week’s going to be a lot about recovery.

“The ones that haven’t played much time, we’ll give them some good sessions, but the rest it’s about getting them ready for next weekend.

“It was a consideration to give them Monday off, but we are in, because it’s a big week for us.”

Pressley said O’Hare will spend the early part of the week at parent club Aston Villa, after he was substituted shortly after scoring Carlisle’s third goal.

The midfielder suffered a bang to the head and a cut. Pressley hopes the 20-year-old will return to United later in the week, while the manager said Jamie Devitt has an “outside chance” of figuring at Huish Park.

Carlisle remained two points outside the top seven after scoring four first-half goals for the first time in a league game since 2007.

Nathan Thomas (two), O’Hare and Hallam Hope did the damage inside half-an-hour, before Crawley scored twice to give United some anxious moments after the break.

Pressley, though, said United’s stunning start had given them a strong platform and though they tired in the second half, and their attacking play was hit by O’Hare’s enforced withdrawal, showed character to see the victory home.

He said: “We started with the most aggressive pressing that we had worked towards this season. For 35 minutes our football was absolutely scintillating – it was top football, aggressive football, pressure football, we didn’t allow them to breathe.

“It’s slightly more high-risk but it’s exciting to watch.

“When you play that way you have to have a high level of fitness. In the end we were hanging on a bit, which is understandable, because we’re not quite at the levels where I want us to be to play that type of football for 90 minutes.

“We felt we had to really go after it and try and get the all-important goals in the early stages of the game.

“Our players deserve great credit because although yes, we fatigued, nobody can say they didn’t really apply themselves. I was aware we’d have to hang on a bit and they showed the mentality in the end to do that.

“All in all, if you’d said before the game you would win this game by a result of 4-2, we’d all have been satisfied with that.”

Pressley says he still believes United will end their campaign in the play-offs.

He added: “Results [elsewhere] weren’t particularly kind but all we asked was we go into the last game of the season with an opportunity, and we’ve certainly given ourselves that.

“The one week where we needed inconsistencies of some teams, it didn’t happen, but we’ve had our opportunities and missed them, so we can’t complain about that. We still have an outside chance.

“I said some time ago I thought we’d sneak in there and I still think that’s going to happen.”