Keith Millen says he wants answers next week on some of the transfer targets he is waiting for.

The Blues manager says he is currently being patient in the hope of landing top targets.

But he said he will push the respective clubs for clear answers in the coming days in case the Cumbrians need to move on to other players to beat he January 31 deadline.

Carlisle have brought in three signings so far and Millen would like to do more business – but some clubs are holding onto players for longer because of the impact of Covid on squads.

Asked if that was something he had faced, he said: “Yes, and I keep ringing them up to say that we are still interested.

“There’s one or two that I’ve said I’m willing to wait on. You have other targets in those positions, but there’s been one or two that I’ve said, ‘Yeah, if we’ve got a chance still I can be patient’.

“At the moment they’re saying the same answers – they want to stick around.

“Next week, at least, I want to know one way or the other, either yes or no, then you can move on.

“At the moment it’s a maybe, we’re in the running, and we’ll see next week. I will say, ‘Is it possible? If not we move on.”

Millen suggested there was nothing imminent on the signing front ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Forest Green Rovers.

He added: “It’s gone a little bit quiet this week. I think everyone is waiting for it to all kick off again as we get towards the end of the window.

“We’ve been talking about lots more names and doing homework on names that have been given to us, but there’s nothing imminent. We’re just concentrating on Saturday’s game now.”

Millen said he would be happy with the squad he has should United hit the wall in terms of further signings.

But he stressed that he did not want to rest on laurels and that efforts would continue to add to the ranks before the deadline.

“I’d be ok with what we’ve got going forward, 100 percent I would,” he said.

“But I don’t want us to stand still and because of the way the transfer window is at the moment, you’ve got to do the best you can when it’s open.

“If it closes with what we’re got it leaves us with enough competition for places.

“If Kelvin [Mellor] is out for a long period, that’s a slight concern that we’ve lost another defender. That highlights that we might be a little bit short in that area. We’ll have to wait and see what the result is from the doctor’s report.

“A lot will happen in the next ten days or so, no doubt, so it’s about picking the right one and getting the deal done.”

Millen admitted the January market can be an unsettling one for players and admitted he will be glad when the chaos of the window is over.

“It’ll be nice when we get to February and we can just concentrate on the football,” he said.

“This is part of why I’m not sure if I really agree with the transfer windows, if I’m honest.

“Everybody tries to cram the business in which you usually try to do within a year.

“I don’t really understand why you’d do that in a month; people tend to panic and a lot of money gets wasted.

“You go into it knowing it’s going to be a mad period. It can be quite unsettling for players at the club because of all the speculation and me being asked if I’m bringing anyone in.

“The lads here don’t want to hear that, so it’s not a great period. Fortunately, here, we’ve concentrated on our match days, and we’ve got our biggest test coming on Saturday. We definitely have to make sure we’re focused on that.”

Millen, meanwhile, last night sanctioned a loan departure for Lewis Bell to Warrington Town, with Taylor Charters having earlier gone out to Gateshead.

United’s boss said of such moves: “I’m very conscious of getting the younger lads out playing first-team football, but we have to make sure we monitor it as well, so it’s not a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’.

“It’s very much part of their development that they play first-team stuff and keep an eye on them.”

Millen added that director of football David Holdsworth was fielding most of the transfer enquiries that come in to Brunton Park.

“David takes a lot of calls for ins and outs and he filters it down to me, so I’m not constantly on the phone, which is a blessing, I can assure you,” he said.

“He’s working hard behind the scenes, taking a lot of calls, lot of conversations.

“It filters down to me what I need to know, which is a good way of working from my point of view.”