Premier League club Aston Villa have again stepped in to help Carlisle United as the Blues try to bounce back from a bruising week at Crawley.

Injury-hit United will tomorrow train at the midlands club to break up the long journey to Sussex.

It is the second time in recent weeks that Villa boss Dean Smith has helped his United counterpart Chris Beech.

The Blues will hope they can reap the benefits of good preparation on one of their longest journeys of the campaign – a 696-mile round trip.

“We’re training at Aston Villa again, mid journey, and that’s great news,” Carlisle head coach Beech said.

“Dean Smith phoned me on Tuesday actually, and he had sympathy because I just sent a picture of our training ground [which was flooded last Sunday] and said ‘any chance for Friday?’ – he said yeah, no worries.”

Carlisle are licking their wounds after injuries to key men recently, Callum Guy stretchered off in the 1-0 defeat to Cheltenham on Tuesday after previous blows to Harry McKirdy and Joshua Kayode.

Beech will have to shuffle his pack again to face John Yems’ 14th-placed Crawley, who will include ex-United loan striker Ashley Nadesan.

It has been a disrupted period for the Blues with their training pitch having been out of use following the effects of Storm Ciara, which saw flood water spill towards the stadium on Sunday night.

Players trained in the indoor Neil Centre before the Cheltenham game, where a 1-0 defeat was fifth-bottom United’s first loss in six.

Beech said: “We can put our snorkel away now and get our football boots out.

“What can I say? It’s part and parcel of being here at Carlisle United, part of the journey, part of the things you have to deal with that other clubs don’t have to.

“But by no means is it an excuse for under-performing and not representing us and the fans. We want 100 per cent to make sure we do that every time we turn up.”

While fit-again Stefan Scougall could return to the squad at the People’s Pension Stadium, United’s shortage of numbers up front could give fresh opportunities to Olufela Olomola.

The Scunthorpe loan man has been out of favour recently and almost left before the January transfer deadline, but Beech says he has shown good signs in training since then.

He said: “After deadline day closed, I rang him on the Friday night – he was disappointed, he maybe would have had a couple of options [but it was] unfortunate his club wouldn’t call him back. ‘Thanks’. They didn’t do that.

“I said, ‘We’re not dead now, Fela, let’s look at getting yourself ready as though you’re fighting AJ [Anthony Joshua] in a month’s time. Go for it, fitness wise, do all the right things.’ He’s applied himself, looks sharper in training, is running a little bit more.”