Keith Millen says Morgan Feeney’s defiant efforts typified Carlisle United’s battling performance in the win at Scunthorpe.

The former Everton and Sunderland man made a vital first-half block to deny Iron frontman Ryan Loft.

Feeney put in a composed overall display at the back to help the Cumbrians keep a third clean sheet in four league games.

The former England youth player, who joined Carlisle last January, is enjoying his best run of games in the side.

And Millen said: “There’s a consistency to his defending, which comes with playing regularly.

“There’s also a consistency to the protection [the defenders] get a bit because of the shape we are in.

“Their really good chance in the first half, after a good bit of link up play…him [Feeney] doing that block sort of sums up the performance.”

Millen also highlighted United’s improvement at set-pieces which has benefited them in recent games.

Carlisle scored one of their goals at Stevenage from a set-piece – while a Callum Guy corner set up Rod McDonald’s winner on New Year’s Day.

“We do a lot of work behind the scenes, look at what the opposition do, look at ways we can try and hurt them,” the manager added.

“It’s the quality of the delivery. It doesn’t matter what you do in the box, if delivery’s not right you’re not going to score.

“Delivery’s got to be good, and it was, and there’s a belief we are going to score – and when you get that, that’s a great asset to have.

“If we can add some goals from the front part of the team we’ll be even better.”

Millen admitted United’s dead-ball threat was improving.

He added: “That’s something the club hasn’t had for a while, but we’ve won the last two games on the strength of it.

“We’ve had first contact in both boxes over the course of the last two games nearly all the time. That’s massive.

“Scunthorpe put us under pressure, they got plenty of crosses into the box, and there were only a couple of times I can think of where we didn’t get the contact before they did.”