David Holdsworth admits a long-term solution to Carlisle United’s training facility issues is unlikely in the short term.

The Blues have been forced to train at various facilities in Cumbria in a season which also saw boss Chris Beech publicly appeal for help.

Carlisle’s own training pitch was out of action for a spell in the winter while other facilities were closed because of Covid-19.

It affected United’s preparations at a time they were trying to keep their promotion push on track, often leaving them with no alternative but to use the indoor Neil Sports Centre rather than a full-sized, open-air pitch.

Director of football Holdsworth said any major revamp of United’s own facilities would require either a major financial injection or a joint approach with the city council.

He said: “I would love someone to come and say ‘We’ll sponsor a training ground’, which would take probably two years to build, with a 4G pitch and a facility where we could do all the things we do.

“We haven’t had anybody do that so far. I would love to be able to build that, and to make it a community centre.

“I would love to say to the community, ‘Come and train here under floodlights’. I would love the manager to have the support to be able to train in those circumstances.

“We don’t have it quite yet.

“We heard Chris every week talking about it, and that’s fine – as a manager you try and do your best but it is tough, was tough.

“There’s a lot of things that’s happened from a legacy of…not complacency, but it’s down to finance, we all know that, things cost money.”

Carlisle have been grateful for the use of facilities at Richard Rose Central Academy in the city, as well as Penrith and Kendal rugby clubs.

It appears the Blues will be reliant on such help for the foreseeable.

Holdsworth added: “You have to do your best. We’re not the only club to do that.

“I was at Mansfield Town prior to John Radford and we didn’t have those training facilities – we didn’t [even] have a second pair of nets when we had no money.

“At that time, the chairman was a great guy called Andy Perry, with Steve Middleton and Andy Saunders. They were doing everything they could to support me but there wasn’t anything in that area as well.

“I had to go wayward into Nottingham or Sheffield to train sometimes.

“When a guy comes along who’s a benefactor, willing to give you a training ground facility, that’s brilliant. Mansfield have had that [since then].

“It’s something I would love to be able to give our players and club, to deliver a facility that’s beneficial to our club and the community.

“I would love our council, and whoever that may be, to come along and say, ‘We’ll work with you to do that’.

“I would love people to say Carlisle’s got to move into the future with a facility.

“There are good people in Carlisle. I don’t have time to make those calls and sit in those meetings but in the future I’d love to be able to sit down with council planning or whoever they may be, and welcome them, and say, ‘Let’s work together, find a community centre that we can have’, that will break down these barriers, perhaps, [because] there are barriers there.

“I’m not going backwards, I want the club to go forward. If we can work with our council and maybe get grants, I would love to be able to do that.”