Carlisle United: Mike Williamson appears to have learnt MK Dons lesson | OneFootball

This leopard seemingly can change its spots, at least a bit.

For the first time this season, Carlisle United have tasted victory in successive games.

Victories over Salford City last weekend and Morecambe on Tuesday night, in the EFL Trophy, notched the Blues back-to-back wins, something that they hadn't experienced since their play-off run in 2023.

They will have to wait until their trip to Bromley on Saturday before they can attempt to put together two league successes in a row for the first time since March 2023. But no matter what competition you're playing in, making a habit of picking up Ws is no bad thing.

Since the toxic 1-0 loss to Cheltenham Town a few weeks ago, it feels like head coach Mike Williamson has started to turn the tide a bit.

Some sections of Carlisle's supporters were calling for him to be removed not much more than a month into his new role at Brunton Park. However, the two most recent performances, and the one against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup, have started to restore some of the faith that was lost in him.

One of the main criticisms that was launched at Williamson is his insistence on getting his teams to play out from the back. His perceivably dogmatic approach to football was frustrating some in the same way it had done while with MK Dons.

The head coach deserves credit though, because these last few matches have demonstrated his ability to be more flexible and to learn from the mistakes he has made in his current and previous job.

Mike Williamson has proven that he has learned from his MK Dons mistakes

Williamson had already gone up against Karl Robinson's Ammies before Saturday's away win in Greater Manchester. His MK side took on City on Sky Sports+, and it was a game that highlighted some of the grievances that people have with his way of playing.

They didn't dominate possession, but they had the edge at 53% to Salford's 47%. No balls were played from the goalkeeper or the defenders directly up to the strikers, and they almost conceded early on by being caught out trying to pass out from the back.

MK ended up losing 1-0 Salford. They gave up a very soft goal to Francis Okoronkwo and failed to take a lot of the chances they had.

Contrast that to the performance as Carlisle boss, they walked away with a reversal of that scoreline, were much more flexible in their build-up play, at times going direct to Luke Armstrong and/or Daniel Adu-Adjei, and they were defensively solid.

For a head coach that is supposed to be very single-minded about things, Williamson has shown of late that he is capable of adapting.

Mike Williamson needs to maintain current Carlisle approach

This weekend's fixture against Bromley is, like Salford, not one that will be entirely conducive to the style of play that Williamson ideally wants to see from his team. The EFL newcomers will make it a scrappy, tough game for Carlisle.

In the face of such opposition, and with the pitch that they'll be playing on at Hayes Lane, it makes sense for United to stick with the mixed style that they have used in previous matches.

The absence of Terell Thomas, arguably Williamson's best passing centre-back, who will miss the trip down south due to being called up by Saint Lucia for their game against CONCACAF Nations League game against Curacao, will make playing out from the back even tougher still.

Stick with what's working in the face of adversity: that seems like the best plan for the Blues right now.