After the disappointment of Carlisle United’s 3-2 loss at Swindon, I’m sure boss Steven Pressley would have been keen to get a reaction.

And he certainly got that in the Blues’ brilliant 3-0 Carabao Cup success against Championship side Barnsley through a goal from Harry McKirdy, a Jack Bridge penalty and Nathan Thomas' strike on Tuesday. 

That set up a second-round tie at Rochdale.

I’m sure United manager Pressley will have been delighted with the response he got, and the attitude shown, by his players at Oakwell. Fair enough, the Tykes made changes to their starting line-up, but they still picked players who can play in the Championship.

Defensively, the side also kept a clean-sheet, and Pressley will have been delighted with that. It was a real team performance. 

I have to say, though, I’m disappointed with the way some sides are treating the League Cup competition. Middlesbrough made 10 changes, too, as they lost on penalties to Crewe.

Albeit the competition isn’t as prestigious as the FA Cup, for me, it’s a cup which provides the lower-league clubs with the chance of earning a draw against a Premier League team - just look at Keith Curle’s Carlisle side which faced Liverpool during their 2015/16 campaign.

And for Championship clubs, it presents an opportunity to get into a semi-final or the final if they play a strong enough team on a regular basis.

The Blues will look to spring another surprise when they take on Brian Barry-Murphy’s Rochdale side in the next round. I feel it’s a good draw for the Cumbrians. 

Hopefully, United can go to the Spotland Stadium and get another result.

If you look at the run Carlisle went on in this competition four seasons ago it, clearly, helped to bring in some extra revenue. Then, maybe it was that kind of money which helped boost the coffers a bit and allowed Curle to bring in the likes of Nicky Adams the following summer.

Back to the current Carlisle team now, who certainly look likely to create plenty of chances through McKirdy and Thomas. McKirdy is becoming a real fans’ favourite already.

Next up for the Cumbrians is a home match against Mansfield tomorrow. 

For me, they seem to be in a similar situation to United, scoring goals quite freely in the early stages of the season, but they still need to tighten up a little bit defensively.

So far this term, the Stags have drawn all three of their matches 2-2, and they will probably be wondering when they are going to get the break which allows them to get their first win to kick-start their campaign.

As for Pressley, I think what he will be looking for is a bit of consistency.

Ahead of this weekend’s encounter, I suspect the Blues will be looking at getting a similar home following at Brunton Park. But, if they can put on a similar performance again, hopefully that will help to attract a few more through the turnstiles.

Defender Byron Webster said the success over Barnsley is the standard of performance United now need to emulate, and I agree. 

You will probably not play that well every week but, if you can get close to those levels, then the side will probably do alright.