Mark Hughes urges Carlisle to "embrace" relegation dogfight ahead of Walsall clash
Mark Hughes has called on Carlisle United to "embrace" the challenges ahead as they welcome League Two leaders Walsall to Brunton Park this evening.
Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
The former Manchester United striker, who succeeded Mike Williamson as Carlisle manager last month, registered his first win at the helm with a 1-0 success over Cumbria rivals Barrow last Thursday.
Carlisle have collected five points from their last three games to move to within three points of safety in League Two and Hughes believes his competitors will be worried by the momentum his side have gathered in recent games.
He said: "We want to stay in this league and we've given ourselves a chance.
"Teams above will look at our result and performance (at Barrow) and I'd imagine they'll be quite worried because I think they will sense that we're on a little bit of a role with a little bit of momentum.
"It's up to us to maintain that now. We were just waiting for that one win. On the back of two decent performances at home without getting the reward, I felt we did deserve in those games.
"There's more big games to come. That's the way we want it, it's the situation we find ourselves and in it's up to us to go and embrace it."
Midfielder Josh Vela made his return from a calf issue as a second half substitute against Barrow last week and winger Jordan Jones (foot) could also be set to make his comeback against Walsall.
George Kelly (calf) is not quite ready to return, with the striker missing since late-December, while former Newcastle United defender Paul Dummett (hamstring) and experienced frontman Charlie Wyke are long-term absentees.
Right-back Josh Williams was also recently ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a serious hamstring injury last month.
