Carlisle duo set for longer deals

Neal has impressed in his two games since joining from Preston

Carlisle United manager Greg Abbott is hoping to tie-up winger Lewis Neal and defender Tony Kane on long-term deals.

Both players have impressed after joining until the end of the season from Preston North End and Blackburn Rovers respectively.

"I think you might find that something has already been done verbally," Abbott told BBC Radio Cumbria.

"They have come into the club as targets that we wanted to keep for longer periods."

Leicester-born Neal began his career with Stoke City, where he made over 80 appearances.

If they continue to play as they are then it will force us to do something sooner rather than later

Carlisle boss Greg Abbott on signing Lewis Neal and Tony Kane

After moving from the Britannia Stadium to Deepdale in the summer of 2005, he made 73 appearances and scored five goals for Preston.

He impressed in the 1-1 draw against Walsall and set up Joe Anyinsah for Carlisle's opener in the 2-0 win at Brighton last Saturday.

"Both players know that we want to keep them for longer," Abbott said.

"We believe that we know enough about them already. Lewis is still not quite match-fit but he could be a terrific player for this football club.

Kane was called-up to the Northern Ireland squad in 2007

"There's a lot of interest in him, as there is in Tony, so we will be fighting to keep them."

A product of Blackburn's academy side, Kane was a regular for the club's reserve team before signing a two-year contract in 2006.

He joined Stockport on loan in November 2006 before joining Belgian side Cercle Brugge on another loan deal in January 2007.

In November 2007, Kane was called up to the senior Northern Ireland squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Latvia and Iceland.

He made his full debut for the Cumbrians when he replaced the injured David Raven in the win against Brighton.

"The situation is that they are being helped out by their clubs to pay part of their existing contracts. That will enable us to get somewhere near to doing a deal," Abbott said.

"This period we've got gives both parties opportunities and, if they continue to play as they are, it will force us to do something sooner rather than later."