Carlisle United boss wants better dressing room culture

The Blues boss, who is rebuilding his squad for the return to League Two, said the changing room was “not policed very well” by players in 2023/24.

United’s boss has referred on a number of occasions to a lack of commitment to the cause in certain quarters.

That is something he wants to remove – and restore the kind of values that are typically associated with success.

It comes down to bringing in more good characters, says the United boss, who has so far brought in Aaron Hayden as Carlisle’s first summer signing.

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“All of the dressing rooms that I've been involved in – the good ones anyway – they did police it themselves,” Simpson said.

“Now, at the start of next season, me and the staff are going to police it, and we're going to see if we can actually create that environment where they are able to police themselves.

Carlisle's dressing room was not policed well enough last season, Paul Simpson has said (Image: Richard Parkes)

“That's a change that we're going to make, because in my opinion, it [wasn’t] policed very well [last] season.”

Simpson, at the end of the relegation campaign, said some players were acting as though they knew they were going to be leaving the club.

Other claims were that some players left out of the side were not rallying behind those selected often enough.

There was also a disciplinary incident late in the campaign involving three players who were punished by the club over an Easter night out in Carlisle.

United are in talks with a number of further transfer targets as the manager looks to reshape things further for 2024/25, with less than a month until the return for pre-season training.

On the dressing-room culture and personal responsibility, Simpson added: “I actually do think as a professional sportsman, in football especially, you are in a team, but you have to have your own individual standards.

“You have to control everything about your own preparation and performance, but you're also relying on others to come and chip in with it as well.

“We've got to make sure we get more who are prepared to come and do it properly than the ones who are not.”