Abbott is looking for a first win in four against Southampton this weekend

Carlisle United manager Greg Abbott is taking the positives from the club's Carling Cup defeat by Portsmouth.

The Cumbrians were beaten 3-1 at home by struggling Pompey, who registered only their second win of the season to progress to the fourth round.

"There's fire in everybody's belly," Abbott told BBC Radio Cumbria. "Let's hope it comes out on Saturday.

"The fans were brilliant tonight. I thought there was about 10,000 with the noise they generated before the start."

"If we can get that and replicate it on a more regular basis, the passion from the terraces spreads to the pitch quickly."

Carlisle have now lost three games in a row, but Abbott is determined not to become downhearted.

"We know we're not the finished article, but we [want to] send people home knowing there's commitment, determination, honesty and quality in the group we've got," he said.

"A lot of the football we've produced this season has been OK.

"What we've got to do is cut out the frailties in terms of the goals we concede and score more goals, and that is what we're working very hard to rectify."

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