Carlisle United boss weighs up Northampton Town threats

The Cobblers have put together some impressive form amid a rise to the top half of the League One table.

And while Simpson acknowledges Jon Brady’s 12th-placed side are strong at the back, it is their goalscoring abilities at the other end which marks the most significant difference to United ahead of Saturday's Brunton Park clash.

“It will be a tough game. You just look at the form they’re in, they’ve had four wins out of the last five – they’ve gone from being in a position where they were near the foot of the table, but they’ve had these wins, and then it puts them in a really strong mid-table position looking to push on further up,” said Carlisle’s manager.

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“It’s a tough game for us but it’s a great game for us as well. We’re at home. We know the challenge ahead.

“They’re a very, very similar side to last season in terms of personnel, but also in terms of the style of play.

“We had two tough games against them last year [a 2-1 away defeat and a 0-0 home draw]. I don’t expect any different.

“All I’m focusing on is trying to get our players to get a better level of performance, that hopefully will lead to a better result.

“They’re strong defensively, that’s the big thing I would say, they don’t give a hell of a lot away, but they’ve got good forward players as well with players like Sam Hoskins, Mitch Pinnock, Kieron Bowie…they’ve got goalscorers and that’s something we’ve really missed this season, having somebody who can stick the ball in the back of the net.

Jon Brady has led the newly-promoted Cobblers to 12th (Image: PA)

“The games where we’ve produced goalscoring opportunities, we haven’t been able to finish them well enough.

“When I look at Northampton, and I’ve watched their last four games, they’ve got people who can score goals and that’s something we’ve got to be better at – whether it’s the players we’ve got in the building or with additions, we’ve got to be better at scoring goals.

“That’s going to be a big challenge, keeping their forward players quiet and creating enough to cause their defence some problems.”

Northampton’s side also includes two former United men in Cumbrian ex-Blues youth product Patrick Brough, from Silloth, and ex-Blues loan star Jack Sowerby.

Defence 'overworked'

Carlisle’s own defence has been a source of strength for much of the opening spell of the League One season, although the Blues have conceded eight in their last two league games.

Simpson says he wants his side to ease some of the pressure on the back line.

“I’ve got to say, the defence have been big for us this season because they’ve been overworked,” added the manager.

“I would much prefer for them not to have had to work as hard as they have.

“This is another challenge for us this weekend, they’ve got to rise to the game.

“Sam Lavelle has shown real good leadership qualities, Jon Mellish has been steady as he always is, and that’s even with the disruption of him playing in different positions.

“Josh Emmanuel is getting fitter – I’ve been pleased with how he’s going in terms of building his fitness levels up.

“And we’ve just got to keep working hard, trying to do the job. Conceding goals isn’t just a case of our defenders, it’s everybody – the goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders protecting in front, forwards being the first line of defence.

“We’ve all got to shoulder the blame and responsibility do to everything we possibly can to get a clean sheet and get a result for ourselves.”