'Non-negotiable' for Carlisle to fight for title
· Yahoo Sports
New head coach Rob Elliot says it's a "non-negotiable" that Carlisle fight for the National League title in his first season.
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Elliot made the switch from Gateshead to Brunton Park following the departure of Mark Hughes last week.
In a wide-ranging interview with BBC Radio Cumbria, Elliot said he expects the Blues to operate on a reduced budget this season following their surprise exit from the National League play-offs at home to Boreham Wood, after a third-placed finish with a club-record 95 points.
Elliot said: "I don't think we will be spending the money we have previously spent and probably one of the reasons I'm here is being able to find players at this level that can give you the most value – players we can develop and hopefully stay with the club and be successful.
"There's obviously areas we need to look at to recruit, but I'm not looking to change too many of the players.
"I think the core of these players have proven themselves last year, we just need to bring in players who can make us stronger and better."
Elliot said the "sheer size of the club, the potential and the players that are here" attracted him to the role and everything he does will be geared towards returning the Cumbrians to the EFL following their relegation from League Two in 2025.
He said: "The owners have put so much into the club, on and off the pitch, it probably hasn't gone the way they wanted, but hopefully with my experience at this level it's a natural (fit) and something that's very exciting. I'd have really regretted it if I'd not taken the opportunity.
"It's a massive club which wants to be progressive and wants to do well. We obviously want to get back to the Football League where the club has a rich history.
"It's a non-negotiable to fight for promotion and the title. Everything we do is geared to that. It's not going to be simple, but the challenge and opportunity to do that, to have more resources than I have had before, will stand us in good stead.
"We're not under-estimating how hard that will be."
'I'm not Mike Williamson'
Former Newcastle goalkeeper Elliot initially took over at Gateshead in a caretaker capacity in September 2023 after Mike Williamson departed for MK Dons, before Williamson's ill-fated 25-game spell at Carlisle ended in February 2025.
Elliot led the Tyneside outfit to sixth place but they were unable to compete in the play-offs because their ground did not meet the entry criteria for membership of the EFL.
Elliot joined then-League One Crawley in October 2024 but was sacked the following March with them 22nd in the table after six wins from his 33 games in charge.
He returned to Gateshead in January with the side in dreadful form at the foot of the fifth tier and they were 11 points adrift by the middle of February.
However, after ending a run of 13 successive league defeats on 17 February, they then lost just two of their final 15 matches to finish eight points clear of the relegation zone, leading Elliot to be nominated for the National League's manager of the season award along with York's Stuart Maynard, Luke Garrard of Boreham Wood and Rochdale's Jimmy McNulty.
Asked about comparisons with his former team-mate and head coach Williamson's spell at Brunton Park, Elliot admitted it "didn't go well for him here" but added: "I'm not Mike Williamson, I am my own man, I have huge respect for Mike but probably our views on football are different.
"I have my own style. I want my teams to be really aggressive and front-footed. Everything we do is to score a goal. We especially need to be more front-footed at home.
"I think you need to give the club an identity on the pitch, the fans turn up knowing what to expect, but it has to culminate in winning games.
"We are going to press from the front, be aggressive. We are going to put the ball in the areas we want it to be, we'll use our structure."