Steven Pressley says Carlisle United’s next new signing should be through the door before the end of the week – provided he comes unscathed through a game tonight.

The Blues expect to welcome a loan midfielder to Brunton Park on a season-long loan.

United’s boss said the player is representing his parent club – a Premier League outfit – in a friendly tonight before making the trip to Cumbria.

Pressley, speaking after Carlisle’s 4-3 defeat to Hibernian in their first pre-season friendly, said: “We should have – fingers crossed – a midfield player in by Thursday or Friday.

“This will be a loan target. He’s gonna play in a game for his club [tonight] in a friendly game and if he comes through that unscathed we’re hoping he’ll join us Thursday or Friday, and that’s really good news.”

Pressley also said United should have a clearer idea on their attacking targets by next Wednesday or Thursday.

The Blues have a shortage of senior attacking options as they await loan deals. He said: “It’s an ongoing process. A lot of clubs, on the players we’re talking about, have them included in their early part of pre-season and probably we’ll not get these players in until at least mid-next week.

“We just can’t get them out right now. It’s part of the way it is. But we’re confident that we’ll get them in in the next week or so and we’re confident they’ll be the right players for Carlisle.”

Pressley conceded that filling gaps up front is a major part of his squad building work ahead of the new season.

“Those are the next pieces [of the jigsaw], there’s no doubt about that,” he said.

“We are having to show a degree of patience.

“Hopefully [after seeing our efforts against Hibs] the supporters will understand we are trying to build, we are trying to do things properly, we are trying to make them come to the stadium, be excited by the team.

“Hopefully they understand we are trying to do the right things for the club.”

Pressley, meanwhile, said he will give Carlisle’s four trialists two more chances to impress before making decisions on them.

United named three trialists last night in Isaac Buckley-Ricketts, Tyrone Duffus and Elliott Reeves, with a fourth on the teamsheet unnamed but understood to be Miles Storey, who played in the first half.

Pressley said they will be included in United’s next friendlies against Penrith this Saturday and Chester next Tuesday.

The manager said: “Judgment on most of these will be after the Chester game.

“I’ve spoken to them all about that and said I need to see more of them. They’re all aware of that situation.

“We’ve got to remember that for all players, including trialists, this is a very early game for them and it’s wrong to make too many judgements of them at this stage.

“We’ll assess them over the next few days in training and then get a look at them at Penrith, then a final look, probably, at Chester. I said to them we’ll make a decision on them after that.

“They’ve still got good opportunities to prove themselves. I’ve told them there’s no guarantee after that that we’ll take you on. I’ll only sign the players who I think are good enough and are the right characters to support the ones we’ve already got in.”

Another trialist who had been with Carlisle at the start of pre-season, Dulwich Hamlet defender Michael Chambers, is now unlikely to return. He has since been training with Wrexham.

Pressley said: “I offered the agent the opportunity for him to come back, more in the sense of a training opportunity. But with us bringing Nathaniel [Knight-Percival] in, the likelihood is we won’t sign another left-sided central defender.”