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"We have had them watched and the reports coming back are very good. They play football, but then I think most of the teams in this league do, certainly from what we have seen so far. It's not been a particularly physical league because all the teams try to play. Maybe the quality isn't quite as good as the Championship, but certainly the teams are playing.
"Paul Simpson was there and did very well for them and I think Neil (McDonald) is carrying that on now. We know Neil from his time at Bolton, because he was always around when we played reserve games there, and he is someone we hold in very high regard.
"Chris (Lumsdon) was a player we were interested in bringing here because he proved that he was a good player when he was on loan. That was a few years ago now and he was one that slipped our net. We agreed a fee with Sunderland to buy him and I remember his dad was keen for him to come to us but in the end he decided to go to Barnsley.
"He spent a few years in the wilderness there a bit but has resurrected his career with Carlisle. He is certainly a player we would have liked to have signed and when one door closes another one opens and I don't think it was too long after that that we managed to sign Dave Brammer from Port Vale.
"Lee (Matthews) hasn't trained with me yet, but he could be on the bench tomorrow because he is due to train with me today (Friday). I'm not struggling in that area so there is no need to rush things, but if he does really well in training then he might just be in contention."
Meanwhile the Railwaymen's Welsh international midfielder David Vaughan commented :
"It has been very disappointing to have lost two away games after playing so well against Wigan. The lads were a bit jaded at Yeovil and we did struggle at time at Swansea, so hopefully we can improve and pick up three points at home on Saturday.
"I think the fixture list has taken it's toll because we have played a number of games in a short space of time. We also had to travel down south and stay over, but that isn't an excuse because we know we can play a lot better than we have in the last two games.
"Carlisle have done very well this season and are used to winning matches. They are in the top six and must be thinking about being in the top six or even better at the end of the season. We are thinking the same. We have had a couple of hiccups of late, and we know that our home form will be key if we are to be involved in the play-offs at the end of the season or even better.
"I'm always looking to score more goals. I made a decent start with two goals in three games but they have dried up a bit lately. I'm looking to be more consistent in my play and do better in terms of scoring goals.
Crewe midfielder Michael O'Connor and right-back Jon Otsemobor will both be available after missing the 2-1 defeat at Swansea, with knee and thigh injuries respectively, and will be likely to take the place of Ben Rix and Darren Moss. Striker Lee Matthews could also be in line for a surprise recall to the Alex' bench after recovering from an ankle problem. Missing out though will be veteran frontman Rodney Jack with an abductor injury, while the match also comes too early for midfielders Tony Grant (achilles) and Lee Bell (broken foot) who have only just returned to training this week.
The referee for tomorrow's match is Mike Russell from Hertfordshire and he will be assisted down the lines by Peter Grove from the West Midlands and Andrew Newbold from Leicestershire, meanwhile the fourth official will be Steve Pardoe from Cheshire.