Simpson: ‘commitment’ message to every player as Blues attempt to rebuild

Paul Simpson says Carlisle didn’t have ‘100% commitment’ from all his players last season (Image: Richard Parkes)

Paul Simpson says he needs maximum commitment from every Carlisle United player next season – which was not the case in 2023/24.

The Blues manager claims certain “standards” were not met behind the scenes at Brunton Park as the team slipped towards relegation.

And, ahead of a summer rebuild, Simpson says everyone on his team, whether existing players or new additions, must embrace the cause wholeheartedly.

Carlisle are preparing to return to League Two after a poor third-tier campaign.

Simpson, who is hoping to bring in a number of recruits to overhaul the squad, said: “My challenge to the players – and this is my challenge to them, is that I want you to come in and be really honest with me and told me with my face that you are 100 percent committed to this football club for next season.

“You have to come and adhere to everything.

“You have to come in and adhere to the standards that we want to set, because the honest truth is that the standards that we set have not been maintained throughout the season.”

Simpson, in postseason interviews, referred to a negative “atmosphere” in the locker room.

He suggested that some players were acting as if they knew they were going to leave the club.

Released skipper Paul Huntington, in an interview with the News and Staralso suggested that there weren’t enough good characters in the team, with some players not fully supporting the team when left out.

“I think that happens when you lose games,” Simpson added.

“What happens in football is when players are not part of the team, they become better players because everyone thinks they should be playing.

“But there is a reason why they were left out of the team and there are reasons that arise on a daily basis why they are not coming back into the team. “When you lose games, everything goes wrong. I understand , and everyone wants to blame something that might not even be there. So we just have to accept it.

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“And if you want to be successful, you have to (be totally committed) to everything you do.

“Whether it’s in your recovery after games, whether it’s your preparation before games, whether it’s work on the turf, work in the gym… everything you do, you have to do it to the best of your ability.

“I always say you have to do your best. I’m not saying you have to be the best, I’m not saying you can be better than Cristiano Ronaldo, but you can be the best.

“And I don’t think as a group we can look in the mirror and say we were our best last season.”