'Got what they deserved' - Paul Simpson speaks following Cambridge United defeat

Carlisle United manager Paul Simpson has spoken out following their 4-0 defeat to Cambridge United at Brunton Park last weekend.

Simpson described the Blues' defeat as one of their most disappointing games this season, he said: “We’re in a tough place at the moment and I think that shows, it was a bit of a capitulation at the end, we just went to pieces.

“I think the disappointing thing is, I thought we started both halves well and people might laugh and say that's a bit of a strong word but we did.

“We passed the ball well, we got into good areas and got into the final third.

“I do think we were shooting a bit early or crossing in front of players instead of going past them and trying to get in behind.”

Cambridge United, who are currently sitting 16th in the table, broke the deadlock on 14 minutes, courtesy of a well placed effort from Sullay Kaikai.

“I think it's probably one of their first attacks against us, we don't get tight enough to Kaikai down the line and he’s able to check inside and get a shot off", Simpson said.

He added: “Again, we start the second-half well and then the second goal is a horrible goal to give away.

“After that, we just went to pieces.

"We talked before the game about being brave, brave to receive, brave to pass the ball, brave to run, all of those sorts of things and in the end I thought Cambridge made us look like a team of kids against a real experienced side.

“We looked as though we felt sorry for ourselves today when that second goal went in. We talked about positive reactions when things go against you and we haven't had that today.

The team are currently sitting at the bottom of the table, and with only 14 games left in the season, their position in League One looks to be in jeopardy.

“We have to deal with that criticism that we’re going to get, we’re in a tough place at the moment, we’ve got to accept that and just try and come up with a formula with a group of players that are going to be strong enough to deal with this situation and see what we can do.”

“I’ve gone away from playing three at the back because I felt we had to be a bit more positive and play three forwards in Diamond, Gibson and Armstrong.

"That's not working at the moment so we’re going to have to look again and go back to the drawing board and find a shape that gives us some solidity, but also gives us the opportunity to be creative and try and score goals because it's just not happening.”

"Over the whole of the game, the truth is we got what we deserved and we got the reaction from the supporters that we deserved as well.”