Paul Simpson has challenged his Carlisle United team to be like Manchester City in how they aim to respond to a setback today.

The Blues take on Leyton Orient in League Two this afternoon (Brunton Park, 3pm) with Simpson seeking improvement from the midweek defeat at Barrow.

And United’s boss said his players need look no further than the Premier League champions for the sort of ruthless attitude needed.

“The big challenge for me is if we are a good team, we’ll react in the right way,” Simpson said.

“My example I gave to the players is Manchester City. They are a right good team. They lost last weekend [to Liverpool], and if they’re as good as they think, they’ll react in the right way.

“And we’ve got to do that. I’m not for one minute comparing ourselves with Manchester City. But we have to react in a positive way.

“That starts with a really good game against Orient.”

LISTEN: Simpson on Orient, injuries and more

Simpson is hoping Jack Stretton and Corey Whelan can be involved today after ankle injuries, while Kristian Dennis and Fin Back should return.

Carlisle could go third with victory today, as they put their nine-game unbeaten run on the line against Richie Wellens’ second-placed Os.

Simpson says neutrals will expect high-flying Orient to win today.

And he said a Carlisle victory would open a few eyes outside the club.

“It will be a game that will get talked about,” he said.

“If Orient win the game, everybody will be expecting that because nobody expected us to be up there.

“We’ve got to make sure we surprise a few people. That’s the only thing on my mind – make sure we get our performance right.

“I don’t think it’ll surprise ourselves but it may just surprise a few people outside of our football club.”

Tuesday’s 2-0 Papa John’s Trophy defeat at Barrow saw Simpson criticise the performance as well as his own preparation.

He said the players have responded in the right way to his post-match words.

“It’s been very good. We talked about what’s got us into the league position we’re in, and I said over this season I’ve probably made mistakes before Tuesday, just like players do.

“But the players have been able to cover up for any little mistakes you make, and I can sometimes cover up for mistakes the players have made.

“We’ve been able to do this because we’ve been together in having a one team mentality.

“We have to get back to it, simple as that.”