Hughes happy to see Carlisle in mix at top

Mark Hughes has won 13 out of 31 league games in charge of Carlisle

Carlisle United head coach Mark Hughes is pleased to see his team in the thick of things at the top of the National League with a quarter of the season gone.

The Blues returned to winning ways on Wednesday with a 3-1 home victory over Hartlepool United, having lost their previous two games.

It leaves Hughes' team three points behind leaders Forest Green Rovers and one behind Rochdale, with only the champions securing automatic promotion to the English Football League after 46 matches.

"We've played 13 games and we're averaging two points a game," Hughes told BBC Radio Cumbria.

"That's good going by any stretch of the imagination. We're in the mix and we will be at the end, I'm sure."

After producing what the former Manchester United striker called an "excellent performance" against Pools, Hughes was pleased to quell any unease that had been growing, on the back of losing 5-0 at York City and then 2-0 at home to Rochdale.

Those two teams both lost on Wednesday, and now Carlisle must prepare for another hard test as they go to unbeaten Scunthorpe United, the side one point and one place below them, on Saturday.

"We got a little bit of criticism for getting beaten by two good sides," said Hughes. "Tonight, they were beaten, that's the nature of the league and it's going to happen between now and the end of the season.

"What we need to be is a little bit calm and realise that on occasions the opposition will be a little bit better than you and you get beaten.

"But tonight we played really well and that puts us in a good frame of mind for a really difficult game at the weekend."