The Cumbrians confirmed at last weekend’s friendly against Workington that former Magpies stopper Dan Langley would be joining the team at their pre-season camp up in Scotland this week.
And it was also highlighted that Stephen Walker, a forward formerly with Boro and who had also joined the Blues on trial at the start of the summer, wouldn’t be making tat trip.
“I do like what I see from Dan,” manager Paul Simpson told us on Tuesday afternoon, shortly after the big keeper had played the closing half hour against Livingstone.
“The first three games we’ve had he actually hasn’t had a lot to do which has tested him, so I wanted to see a bit more of him in this game. But he still hasn’t really been tested, if I’m going to be honest.
“He’s done ok and we’ve just got to make a decision as to whether or not he’s another project for us, and whether he can push Tomas enough.
“It might be that we need a Dan and another one as well. It’s an area we obviously need to strengthen, so we’ll look at it.
“I don’t think I have to make a decision at the moment, but hopefully over the next week or so we might be closer to making that decision on him.”
On forward Walker, he added: “I didn’t feel as though he was going to push the first team. He’s had a long time off from playing football, he had a glandular fever illness, and unfortunately he just wasn’t at the level.
“As much as I wanted to try and help him, and as much as I wanted to see the footballer in him that I know is there, because I remember him playing for England U19s, I had to make a decision.
“I know what he is. You could even see glimpses of that in the work he did, but I can’t afford to wait.
“We need to start the season with a group of players who are ready to hit the ground running, and that’s why we don’t have time to wait. I just couldn’t wait for him to get fit.
“Unfortunately I had to have that discussion with him. That was last Friday, because as much as I like the lad, and I also like him as a footballer, we can’t be a nursing home to get these lads right. Sometimes we have to be ruthless and these decisions have to be made.”
A manager who likes to have a group set in stone to work with, he intimated that it’s unlikely that we’ll see any more trialists.
“There’s no plans to bring any more trialists in, unless somebody gets suggested to me,” he told us. “The problem that you have now with a trialist coming in is that they’ve missed three or four weeks of football fitness.
“That takes some getting back. Unless it’s a real standout one I probably won’t be bringing any trialists in to join us at this stage.”