Paul Simpson has spoken of his frustration at his free agent pursuit – but the Carlisle United boss is not giving up on his efforts.

Simpson says some players on the market are showing little motivation to get back playing.

It has stalled the Blues’ efforts to add to their depleted squad.

But manager Simpson is continuing to plug away at certain possibilities among the out-of-contract pros still out there.

“Nothing’s changed at the moment – we keep talking,” said the Blues boss on the situation.

“Players seem satisfied to sit on their backside at the moment twiddling their thumbs.

“My career was always built on wanting to play as many games of football as I possibly could. I’m a big believer [in that].

“Maybe that’s a little bit old-school because it doesn’t seem to be the way now.

“But we keep working at it, keep trying to knock on doors and see whether we can get the right answers.

“At the moment I’m not seeing anything for next week but who knows, it can change very quickly.”

Simpson said last week that he had not been told “no” with certain free agent enquiries and he remained hopeful of bolstering his squad.

Carlisle’s mounting list of absentees makes the situation ever more pressing.

Fin Back is set for a long spell on the sidelines with Paul Huntington also facing another lay-off – adding to the loss of Callum Guy for the season.

“I’ll be honest with you, it’s been urgent for a few weeks,” added United’s manager of the need for reinforcements.

“I could see this situation coming.

“We’re suffering at the moment, we’re getting punished for lots of things, but this is where you have got to dig in and you’ve got to be brave, and keep battling as hard as you possibly can to try and turn things around, because when it does turn around it’s a real feeling of satisfaction.”