CARLISLE United’s latest loan signing Christian Ribeiro admits crowd favourite James Tavernier will be a tough act to follow.
Newcastle United right-back Tavernier is set to make his farewell appearance for Carlisle against Exeter City this afternoon, before returning to Tyneside at the end of his loan spell with the Cumbrians.
Carlisle boss Greg Abbott has wasted no time in bringing in a replacement, with Wales international Ribeiro joining the club this week on a two-month deal from Championship side Bristol City.
Ribeiro was included in the squad for the 350-mile journey to Devon, but Tavernier is expected to keep his place in the starting line-up and any outing for the 21-year-old is likely to come as a substitute.
“I’m not sure what the plan is for this weekend,” said Ribeiro. “If I’m starting the game, I’m fit and ready, and if I’m on the bench then I will wait for my chance.
“I know there is a right-back on loan here who is a crowd hero, so I have a lot to live up to. Fingers crossed it’ll be the same for me.
“But there’s nothing like playing first-team football, so I’m looking forward to this.
“It’s a club which is chasing promotion and the play-offs, so it’s an exciting place to be.
“And it’s good that it’s a two-month spell because it means I can settle.
“If it was just for four weeks then those games go by quickly, and you can’t always make your mark.
“My aim has to be to make the place my own, and the only way to do that is to play well.”
Carlisle go into this afternoon’s game in ninth place in League One, level on points with Brentford and Tranmere above them, and having lost just one of their last seven games.
They responded to a crushing 4-0 defeat at leaders Charlton a fortnight ago by beating Sheffield Wednesday 3-2 and then coming back from 3-0 down to rescue a point at home to Oldham.
Exeter have won two of their last three games, with last weekend’s thrilling 4-4 draw at Sheffield United denying Paul Tisdale’s side a hat-trick, but they remain at the wrong end of the table in 19th place and just three points above the relegation zone.
Abbott said: “They have been on a decent run lately and the reports we are getting tell us they are a very well organised team.
“It’s early days in the season just yet but Paul [Tisdale] won’t be happy about where they are, and he will want to keep the momentum going.
“We are on a good run ourselves, so it has the makings of a very good game.
“We know that we can go there and get a result if we play the way we can, so the key will be for us to start the game properly and to make sure we do our jobs.
“We’ve had one of those weeks where there is a very good feeling from the sessions we have had.
“The lads are all very upbeat and ready to go, and with some of them you have to make sure that they don’t get too carried away. There is still a very long way to go, and even though we are happy with how we have done so far, there is still room for improvement.”
Carlisle will be without Frank Simek (hip), Stephen O’Halloran (knee cartilage) and Andy Welsh (calf), but skipper Paul Thirlwell could be involved after recovering from a calf strain and sitting on the bench as an unused sub against Oldham. Striker Francois Zoko is also pushing for a return to the starting line-up after scoring twice against the Latics.
