PAUL Simpson has praised the 'very positive' training ground reaction from his squad ahead of their visit from Northampton Town. 

Carlisle come into the Brunton Park clash with Jon Brady's Cobblers off-the-back of back-to-back away defeats against Reading and Blackpool and three points adrift in the relegation zone.

However, despite shipping three goals to Neil Critchley's Tangerines at Bloomfield Road last time out, Simpson described how his players have been working hard to get back on the right track this weekend.

He said: "The reaction has been very good. It has been very positive.

"We have now had three days of football training and they have all done very well at it so I have got no problems with their attitude to working, they are players who want to improve and do better than we are in terms of results at the moment so that is not in question.

"The biggest challenge is actually being able to do it on a matchday and that is when everybody gets judged."