Gavin Skelton will be in the hotseat for Carlisle United at Port Vale this weekend.

The Blues have this morning confirmed that the assistant manager will be in temporary charge following Steven Pressley's sacking.

Skelton, along with first-team coaches Nathan Rooney and Craig Wight, will lead the Cumbrians into their next League Two game on Saturday.

It means there will not be an immediate appointment of a successor to Pressley.

Carlisle today said they would not be commenting further "at this stage" on the process of appointing a new manager.

"Our short-term focus is on the weekend," the club said.

While United directors are not yet commenting beyond yesterday's statement which was attributed to chairman Andrew Jenkins, the club are expected to hold a pre-match press conference tomorrow with Skelton the person likely to face the media.

The 38-year-old is the senior figure of the stand-in regime given his managerial experience from spells at Workington Reds and Queen of the South.

Former Carlisle and Gretna player Skelton has been at the club in a coaching capacity since 2017, initially joining as under-18 coach and then, after a short-lived spell back as Workington boss, promoted this summer to be Pressley's No2.

Pressley subsequently brought in Fleetwood's former Crawley man Rooney as a first-team coach, with goalkeeping coach Wight having joined a year ago.

Fitness coach David Waldie and long-serving physio Neil Dalton also remain in the backroom set-up.

Pressley was sacked yesterday, with most players and coaches away from the club following Tuesday night's Leasing.com Trophy defeat at Morecambe.

The squad are back in training today as they prepare for the trip to Vale Park.

Few on the footballing side of United - players and Pressley himself - are believed to have anticipated his dismissal after the game at the Globe Arena.

Pressley was, according to director of football David Holdsworth recently, under pressure after United's recent poor league results, but the Scot later said he was receiving "amazing support" from others at the top of the club, including chairman Jenkins.

It was Jenkins, though, who in yesterday's statement said Pressley had not delivered enough "evidence of progress".

Pressley has not yet made any comment.