‘Touch wood’ United appear to be through the coronavirus outbreak which wiped out three of our January fixtures with twice-weekly testing but for one player it has been a tough journey, with teenage winger Lewis Bell still feeling the affects of having picked up the virus at the beginning of the year.
“He’s feeling better, but he’s still not back,” manager Chris Beech confirmed. “He’s walking, goes for walks, and we’ve given him an extra week, so hopefully next week I’ll see him again.
“He’s a very talented football player, but a lot of the younger players, they need to learn to be hard to beat, fight to get the ball back. They’re key factors in winning, but not necessarily taught as much any more, which is a shame.”
“When you look at Liverpool – I know they’re on a down, but they’ve lost some key players – or even Leeds United, if you watched their goals, Carlisle at their best is that game,” he commented. “The hunger those players are showing is something that needs to be in every single person that represents Carlisle United, whether they’re 9, 19 or 99, it doesn’t matter.
“They’re traits Lewi Bell is learning and I can’t wait to get him back and crack on. I can see you all being very excited about him. Josh Dixon, Taylor Charters, the players you’ve seen a little bit of. There’s probably a couple more I’ve not mentioned.
“It will be great for them to represent Carlisle, but they have to understand while they represent Carlisle, Chris Beech isn’t losing games. That’s the balance between youth development and being a first team manager.”