Chris Beech says Carlisle United’s sale of George Tanner to the Championship is proof that the Blues are doing something right.

The head coach said the club had “stood strong” in getting a good deal from Bristol City from the right-back.

Beech stressed that the fact a bigger club had come in for the young full-back was evidence that Carlisle are good at developing players.

United’s boss also said the defender’s head had been turned by the transfer interest, affecting his performance in his final Blues game at Hartlepool.

On the transfer approach for Tanner in the closing stages of the window – and whether United could have held off the Robins – Beech said: “There’s a balance to that. You could argue whether we should stand strong or not.

“Often in my position, while you have information and influence in it, sometimes those decisions are made anyway.

“I think the energy started on Thursday in regards to George, and [started] getting hotter over the next 24 hours.

“I was aware, but the club did stand strong, and did want value. But as a manager, preparing to play Hartlepool, you want George playing full tilt with no distraction and right at it, because you want to win.

“That’s what happens sometimes when you are not the top of the food chain. We’re not.

“But I must say, it is a representation of good recruitment, good coaching, and having doing things very well.

“I know we all have opinions on what we should do, how we should do certain things, how we play, but we’re obviously doing something very well, otherwise we wouldn’t have sold two players this window [Tanner and Aaron Hayden] – there’d be no interest in them.”

Beech claimed Tanner’s performance in the 2-1 defeat at Victoria Park last weekend was a consequence of the interest from Bristol City.

“I think it did, in retrospect, affect him on the Saturday – that’s one of the worst performances I’ve seen him play” he said. “That’s what happens when you get your head turned.

“[Tanner being sold] gave us 36 hours or so to try and solve an issue there, and we knew we needed a little bit more anyway.

“We had a lot of irons in a lot of fires but as the day turns out, a lot of Premier League teams that you have possible loans etc from decide they’re going to keep their players, or may be going somewhere else.

“There’s always different twists, which is difficult to stay in front of. Unless they’re your players you’re not in control of that.”

Beech said it had been just as important to ensure no further players had left Carlisle before the window closed.

“One of the biggest things on deadline day for me was, yes, trying to represent ourselves correctly against Hartlepool, but also making sure nobody else left,” he said.

“That, for me, was like recruiting players – people actually being in the building.

“[Former United players] Jarrad Branthwaite, Hallam Hope, Aaron Hayden, George Tanner…they’re people that have all been paid for, but of course you want to retain good players.

“These things do happen but you have to be active and positive after it, because I want to represent three points.”

Beech also pointed out the ways he had tried to develop Tanner prior to him joining Bristol City.

“Quite a few opposition used to pick on George aerially – it wasn’t, until this season, too clever [an attribute of his],” he said of the former Manchester United prospect.

“I had to teach him how to take a throw-in, would you believe, see out a diag[onal] when it’s still our ball, and winning his aerial battles.

“The two headers he hasn’t won this season have cost us goals – at Swindon he didn’t win a free header at Swindon on a wide free-kick, and he had a free header at Hartlepool and turned it into a goal against.

“Someone’s just paid a hell of a lot of money for him. Back in our day you didn’t go anywhere unless you could do that, but it’s a different time now.”