Carlisle United chief executive David Allen is calling upon fans to support the club after announcing a £1.2m loss.

Last season's "disappointing" results on the pitch, as Carlisle stayed up in League One by just a point, meant a 20% drop in attendances for 2008/09.

"We just need to get some better performances in and the gate income up," Allen told BBC Cumbria.

"Last season was disappointing, with a poor performance on the pitch. Not the sort of thing fans want to go and see."

Having been beaten play-off semi-finalists in 2007/08, Carlisle never really picked up again from the poor autumn that cost John Ward his job on 3 November.

They eventually finished 20th under new boss Greg Abbott, just a point above the safety zone.

But the drop in average attendances from 7,835 to 6,268 accounts for the club's seven-figure losses, compared to a £96,000 loss the previous year.

We have got the makings of a sound squad at the moment Carlisle chief executive David Allen

A spate of injures also meant that expenditure on loan players was increased, amounting to £160,000 more than the previous year. But it was the fall in gates at Brunton Park which really hit home.

Allen said: "This reduction in our average attendance for league games equates to over £500,000 in lost revenue.

"And when you have fewer people coming to the gates it also reduced the commercial turnover, with restaurant, bar and shop income coming down too."

But, although Carlisle have picked up just 10 points from this season's first 10 league games and stand only 18th in League One, Allen believes the future looks brighter under Abbott.

"Greg has done a good job in getting a lot of players out and good ones in during the transfer window," he said, "so we have got the makings of a sound squad at the moment."

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