Curle’s plans falling into place after Rovers win
CARLISLE United wrapped up their pre-season campaign with a convincing 3-1 win over League One favourites Blackburn Rovers on Friday night.
The Cumbrians have conceded just one goal in their six summer outings – a close range finish from former Black Cat Danny Graham during Friday’s entertaining encounter – which suggests last season’s leaky weakness has been addressed.
The addition of the experienced promotion campaigner Tom Parkes appears to be a huge tick in that particular box.
A wealth of exciting midfield creativity has been a signature mark of Keith Curle’s tenure, and nothing has changed on that front.
Meanwhile the capture of prolific finisher Richie Bennett for a reported £50,000 fee from non-league Barrow has bolstered an attack packed with pace, power and presence.
Manager Curle said: “We’ve made five additions to a group which only missed out in the play-offs last season so we’re feeling confident.
“We’ve strengthened defensively by adding big Tom [Parkes] to the mix because I think everyone knows we conceded far too many goals.
“What I don’t want to do is stop us from playing an exciting and entertaining brand of football but we need more points on the board this season, which goes without saying.
“Clean sheets and a stronger defensive unit will help us with that aim.
“We also now have Kelvin Etuhu in the building and he’s the type of midfielder who can sit in front of a back four and help them to keep the door shut.”
The loan swoop for Brentford’s Jack Bonham has been well-received by the often-critical Cumbrian supporters following a string of encouraging displays from the big stopper.
And the blow delivered by the departures of popular front men Jamie Proctor and Jabo Ibehre has been softened with a pair of new signings.
Bennett’s arrival is complemented by the capture of Hallam Hope, a busy striker who enjoys doing much of the unseen hard work.
“There is now a mix of forward options to suit any style of opposition we face,” Curle said. “We know we’re going to create chances with the wide players we have, and we now know we’ll have players in there who will feed off the work they do.
“We’re pleased with what we’ve done with our recruitment. We’re never going to be a club which goes out and spends millions so we cut the cloth accordingly.
“I’ve gone for quality over quantity but there is still room to manoeuvre.
“The window doesn’t shut until the end of August and if something comes up which we think we can do, and if it’s right for the squad and the club, we’ll get it over the line.
“The minimum requirement from whatever we do is improvement on last season. The players who were here and who got us to the play-offs know how close we came.
“Missing out hurt them and they want to put that right. There are other more fancied teams in our league but that doesn’t bother us.
“We don’t fear anyone so we’ll do what we do and I’m confident that means we’ll be a match for anyone.”