Hartlepool United's struggles continue as Carlisle United boss shares 'ruthless' verdict on Brunton Park win

The Blues raced into an early lead when Morgan Feeney converted from close range after Ben Killip had initially kept out a headed attempt from Kristian Dennis.

And it would be Dennis who would double the lead when capitalising on Peter Hartley’s loose clearance before Simpson’s side gifted Hartlepool a route back into the game when Josh Umerah latched onto Owen Moxon’s loose back pass to convert well.

But, despite what Simpson considered a ‘physical’ Hartlepool side, Carlisle were able to maintain their promotion charge when Dennis made it 3-1 heading in from Moxon’s cross in the second half.

“I was a bit concerned because I watched Hartlepool and they were warming up well. But I just thought the way we went about the game, we killed any enthusiasm that they had coming into it, particularly with that early goal,” said Simpson.

“We said to them before kick-off that we needed to start the game properly, we needed to get at them, because we understand the issues Hartlepool are having at the moment.

“We know the problems because we were there ourselves at this stage last season. When you go into a game and the opposition give you a lift you can suddenly start to play with a bit of freedom.

“They could easily have built on what they did on Saturday with their win, but I thought we were ruthless in the way we didn’t allow that to happen.”

And Simpson was particularly pleased with his side’s response to Umerah's 10th league goal of the campaign getting Pools back into the contest, admitting several of his players enjoyed their best games of the season.

“It gave them a bit of a lift when they got back that goal, but then I thought we managed the game really well, and finished it off with a fantastic third goal.

“We didn’t let that affect us or get us down, we stayed with it, and I don’t even know how many individuals had their best game of the season for us, but there was quite a few of them. I thought we got really good performances from everybody in the group.”