Port Vale boss John Askey admits he has no idea how Carlisle United will line up tomorrow following Steven Pressley’s sacking.

The Valiants manager, whose side are unbeaten in six games, says Pressley is also a victim of “silly season” when bosses get the boot.

Pressley was the first of three League Two sackings in as many days with Leyton Orient and Grimsby following suit.

For 10th-placed Vale, it will also be their second weekend game in succession against a club making changes at the top, having beaten MK Dons under new boss Russell Martin in the FA Cup last weekend.

On United, Askey said: “We don’t know how they’re going to play.

“Usually when a team has a manager in place you have a good idea of how they are going to play and who is going to play.

“So it changes things, as it did when we went to MK Dons – they set up differently to how they had before.

“It’s that time of year – silly season for managers. Even though they [Carlisle] have had [some] good results, they still sacked the manager.

“You’re always sad when you see somebody getting the sack but it’s part and parcel now.”

Askey, speaking in his pre-match press conference, said ex-United loan man Mark Cullen is pushing for a call-up.

The striker scored twice against Newcastle under-21s in the Leasing.com Trophy and is hoping for more league action.

Askey said: “He hasn’t done himself any harm. Every time Mark plays he looks as though he’s got a goal in him.”

On Vale’s encouraging recent form, the former Macclesfield and Shrewsbury manager added: “It’s going ok. If we were top of the league I’d say it’s going really well.

“We’ve been in this sort of position before and we need to push on.

“The players are confident with how results have gone, but we just concentrate on this game.

“It can soon change. We’re always guarded against complacency. We know we’ve got to work really hard if we want to get a result on Saturday.”