Boss Jim Nichols has called for Carlisle City to “do the horrible side of the game” when they host Bedlington Terriers.

As the Sky Blues today (3pm kick-off) look to build on their first Northern League, Division Two win of the season against Billingham Synthonia, they will face the Terriers.

They have began their 2019/20 league campaign by taking six points from three league fixtures, and claimed a 2-0 victory over Brandon on Wednesday - as Nichols watched on.

Nichols said: “They are a very young side.

“They are very mobile. They are quite back-to-front, actually, and quick at shifting the ball.

"It will be a different threat to what we have faced so far, certainly in the last two games. But I think we are quite well acquitted to deal with that back-to-front threat.

“The important thing is we do the horrible side of the game, we have to stay with runners and win second balls. If we do that, I think we have enough going forward.”

Ahead of another clash at Gillford Park, Nichols said: “Listening to what other managers have said, teams are going to like coming to ours.

“The pitch is in absolutely immaculate condition. The facilities, in comparison to the rest of the league, are very, very good. It’s a bit of a boost when teams come to ours.

"But I think we need to make it as difficult as we can [for other teams] to pick points up. I think Tuesday is a classic example of how we could do that. I don’t think they would have enjoyed playing in the game.” 

He added: “We knew they would have a lot of the ball, and I’d say we have played the two best footballing sides in the league already.

"But we set up a game-plan which allowed them to have the ball at the back, and I thought we did it really, really well.”

After being sent off in midweek, Rob McCartney faces a ban, but that hasn’t kicked in yet.