Paul Simpson hailed the “incredible” finale at Oldham Athletic which saw Carlisle United take another dramatic step towards Football League safety.

Morgan Feeney’s 94th-minute header sparked memorable scenes in the away end as the Blues snatched a 2-1 comeback win.

It saw Simpson make history as the first permanent United manager to win his first three games in charge.

And the United boss revealed that, 45 minutes earlier, he had told his players to imagine exactly those scenes at the end of the game.

“It’s incredible,” Simpson said.

“I said at half-time to the players, ‘Start getting a picture in your minds of celebrating in front of them fans when you go and get yourself a goal. If you do things right, what a wonderful feeling. Get a picture’.

“I hope somebody has got a photograph of that because that will be my opening slide on my next presentation to them.

“The first feeling was probably delight, but it quickly gets taken over by sheer relief, that we’ve got through another game and managed to get three points.”

Defender Feeney sparked jubilant scenes among the 1,294 travelling fans with his first senior goal.

It completed United’s comeback after Omari Patrick had wiped out ex-Blues man Hallam Hope’s opener for John Sheridan’s Latics, the scoring coming after Carlisle keeper Mark Howard had saved a Davis Keillor-Dunn penalty.

On the dramatic winner, which came via Callum Guy’s free-kick, Simpson added: “When you get that situation it looks really easy to slip a ball into the right area and then it looks easy to get up and win the first contact.

“Trust me, it isn’t, it takes a little bit of nerve to do that.

“Callum put a great delivery in, Morgan attacked it like we know Morgan can, and it was brilliant to see it bouncing in off the bar and over the line.

“I wasn’t sure what happened for about 15 seconds after, there was nothing else that was important.

“It’s a good feeling, it's a nice feeling, we got the three points and we move away and look forward to the next one.”

United are now 18th in League Two and six points above second-bottom Oldham after ending the hosts’ seven-game unbeaten run since Sheridan’s return.

Simpson said Carlisle improved after a below-par first half and deserved their result.

He also praised the character of his players.

“Sometimes you have to grit your teeth and get through a first 45 minutes to be able to play the second 45,” he said.

“I was sitting there thinking, ‘Let’s just get through to half-time’, especially when H [Howard] made that penalty save.

“It was a bit of a gutter when the [Oldham] goal went in, we were all a bit sickened with that, but sometimes you have to deal with it and we dealt with it really well.

“We responded right in the second half, played with a bit more composure and positivity, created three or four really good opportunities.

“I think on the balance of the second half – maybe I’m a bit biased and have got rose tinted glasses – but I thought we deserved it.”

Patrick scored his third goal in three games, and his sixth in 12 since rejoining the Blues in January, to bring things level early in the second half.

“It was a wonderful first touch, that was a biggie, that set it for him and he slid it with the outside of his right foot,” Simpson said. “In that situation you’re probably thinking inside of your left.

“It shows a striker in form and a partnership of him and Denno [Kristian Dennis] doing really well. When you add Tobi [Sho-Silva] into the mix with that physical presence and running, it’s not a bad feeling to have.”

On United’s fighting spirit, the manager added: “When you’re losing games it’s the first thing supporters question – the character of them and their attitude.

“I think they’ve shown character today and all week to be honest.

“When you lose a manager, and a manager who is a decent bloke [Keith Millen], and I’m sure a lot of the players were close to him, it does affect you. It rocks you a little bit.

“It’s one of them – you have to move on unfortunately. Everybody knows, when you are a manager or coach, you’re gonna lose your job at some point.

“The players have to deal with it. For some of them it might be the first time they’ve had to deal with it, but they’ve shown a real mettle to be able to come through it and come through it like this.”

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