CARLISLE United assistant manager Gav Skelton has give his thoughts on the Blues' 0-2 defeat against Blackpool FC.

The Carlisle side which featured a number of first team players such as Jack Stretton, Jayden Harris and Tobi Sho-Silva, was defeated by a young Tangerines outfit in the Central League Cup.

Goals from Brad Holmes and Owen Moffat sealed the result at Brunton Park.

Giving his reaction after the game, Gav Skelton said that the performance from the Blues was not good enough.

READ MORE: Walsall v Carlisle United: how the stats reflect on The Blues' FA Cup exit

He said: "We have to hold our hands up and say that it was definitely the best team that won.

"I think we only had a couple of real efforts at goal, their keeper made some decent saves from them, but apart from that we were chasing it a little bit.

"Over the 90 minutes we weren’t good enough as a unit, but the thing we can take from it is that it showed how we desperately need game time for some of our lads."

Skelton also highlighted that intensity was not right throughout the game.

He said: "I’m not looking for excuses there because the way we pressed and looked after the ball wasn’t good enough.

"The work rate and tempo needed to be higher, and we’ve talked to them about that."

Despite the poor peformance, Skelton did concede that the majority of the fielded players have been lacking match minutes.

He said: "That was the first game, or first 90 minutes for a number of them, and we can’t hide away from the fact that they needed it. Some were well short and looked too far off it."

READ MORE: Carlisle United's academy successfully completes external inspection