'Massively disappointing' - Simpson reacts as Carlisle United suffer 5-1 defeat against Reading

Paul Simpson was extremely disappointed with how his side performed. Credit: PA

Carlisle United manager Paul Simpson blasted his side's performance as they suffered a 5-1 defeat on the road to Reading.

The Blues currently sit in 22nd place in League One, with just three wins from 19 matches so far this season.

Paul Simpson's side were taking on bottom of the table Reading, who moved to 23rd following the victory.

Speaking to Carlisle United's website following the game, Simpson said: "Massively disappointing. If you don’t do the basics properly then you are going to get found out.

"That is exactly what has happened tonight, we have missed tackles and we have not cleared our lines. I actually thought we started the game well but it was a really poor goal to give away to start with. We showed really good desire to get back into it and get the equaliser.

Simpson was disappointed with how his side performed. Credit: PA

"The two goals after that though are absolutely pathetic. The fourth goal I think it is a great finish. The fifth goal is a simple run down the middle of the pitch and we haven’t tracked it. There are lots and lots of little things that and there were so many little, simple, basic mistakes and that was a real tough night for us tonight.

“At the start of the second half I thought we were causing them problems by turning them over. But then we stopped doing it again.

"They played a very high line and we knew that if we popped balls in behind, which is what we were doing first half, we could cause them problems. It is the simple side of the game and for some reason they thought they were better than that and unfortunately I think it is a lesson for us that we need to start doing the basics better.

"It is such a massively disappointing way to end what has been such a positive week for our football club."

Striker Joe Garner was taken off injured after just 10 minutes. Simpson confirmed the extent of Garner's injury.

He said: "Joe Garner is back from hospital now and he got about eight or nine stitches from a deep wound on his knee. It was a bit of a blow and was really innocuous how it happened.

"I thought Luke came on and worked really hard and got his goal, which he needed. There were lots of things that weren’t right tonight though."

Simpson replaced Dylan McGeouch at half time, bringing on striker Ryan Edmondson.

On that substitution, Simpson said: "It was tactical, I thought Dylan got on the ball for us but it was just the case of I couldn’t carry on with that shape, I needed to get another striker on.

Simpson was left frustrated with his sides performance. Credit: PA

"It is a little bit harsh on him but I felt as though it was the right thing to do because Mellish and Moxon can give us a little bit more legs. It wasn’t about the shape tonight. It was about players not tracking runners, players not clearing their lines, not defending properly, not talking to each other and particularly the first three goals were really poor to give away."

More than 500 United fans made the long journey down for the match. Simpson was full of praise for the supporters who stuck with his side despite the result.

He said: "You have to feel for them making that journey tonight but they stuck there are the end and we can only go and thank them because we haven’t performed for them tonight and I am sure it is going to be a really tough journey for them as well."

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