Abbott plays the waiting game

Carlisle manager Greg Abbott has adopted a patient approach in his attempts to attract four transfer targets to Brunton Park.

"There's nothing imminent but we're talking to some good people," he told the club's official website. "We have four players we have tracked and we feel that all of them would bring something different. "We have to be patient because we have to wait for these lads to become available. We're looking at the back end of next week or the beginning of the week after for that so we'll keep an eye on it and hopefully be in a position to move when the time is right." Abbott also refused to be drawn on the prospect of signing former Newcastle United midfielder Ryan Donaldson. The Cumbrians boss added: "He's a player we've known about for a while. "He was in the area and we invited him over to play at Durham, and he did well. We'll see how he felt about it all and take it from there as to whether he gets involved with us on Friday night."