Feeney praises shift in Carlisle's losing culture

Carlisle United captain Morgan Feeney says the squad deserves credit for turning around the losing culture at the club this season.

After successive relegations out of the EFL, Carlisle moved top of the National League with a 2-0 win over Wealdstone.

Having lost 54 league games in dropping out of Leagues One and Two, the Blues have won 17 of their 26 matches so far this campaign.

Feeney, who returned to the club in the summer, believes that should not be underestimated.

"I've been there myself at different football clubs, it's so hard to turn the tide," he told BBC Radio Cumbria.

"That's testament to the group and the staff that have come in."

The win over Wealdstone made it three in eight days over the festive period as Mark Hughes' side bounced back from successive losses to Woking and Boreham Wood earlier in December.

Carlisle took advantage of Boreham Wood, York City and Rochdale all being postponed to leapfrog them to go top, albeit with those sides now having those games in hand.

But for 26-year-old Feeney, the Blues are right in the mix for automatic promotion, which is a considerable effort given how things were in the previous two years.

"Back-to-back relegations have been tough for the football club," he said.

"This club doesn't belong where it is so we're all fighting really hard, but how many teams have you seen keep plummeting and keep going down.

"At the minute, we're putting in a really good showing and we're really happy with our first half of the season."