Carlisle United manager Keith Curle says that he is happy with the way the players have responded to the extra training in order to improve fitness. After becoming the manager in September 2014,Curle has been able to get the club clear of relegation zone in the last few weeks.

This is after a string of good results with victories against Northampton and Cheltenham Town. One of the reasons for this improved performance has been the players training much harder than before according toCurle. He says that his plans to step up the intensity in the training could have gone horribly wrong had it not been for the response from the players.

The fact that they have been able to keep up their fitness levels at this stage of the season is a testament to the hard work done by the players according to the manager. He says that these fitness levels are finally starting to show its results. It is now looking almost certain that Carlisle will be able to avoid relegation quite comfortably. This was certainly not the case in the early part of the campaign. Curle has even cited the example of a couple of players as the examples of hard-working training. The club take on Oxford United away from home in the next league match.

“Players not getting game-time need to be conditioned so as and when they are needed they are able to come into the team and give a good account of themselves.If you leave players to their own devices, they would not be as fit as I know I can get them.That’s not a criticism – it’s just what players are like and what people are like. David is one of the people coming back doing the extra training. That shows the hard work he’s doing behind the scene,” said Curle.