"KEEP your eye on Evil." That's the message Carlisle United manager Paul Simpson will pass on to his troops ahead of tonight's trip to Accrington Stanley.

The Cumbrians' chief is no stranger to Reds striker Lee McEvilly, nicknamed Evil, after spending two seasons with him as a team-mate and his manager at Rochdale.

Simpson, who coached at Blackburn Rovers Academy before moving into management, saw McEvilly develop at both club and international level as he earned caps for Northern Ireland and their Under 23s side. And he is only too aware of the threat the 22-year-old possesses.

"Hopefully he will have a nightmare game tonight," Simpson joked.

"Lee is a player who can cause us problems and we've got be aware of him.

"Accrington was a good move for him at the time because he wasn't getting his contract renewed at Rochdale and he wanted to stay in the area.

"He's done well there and seems to have worked hard and has kept his place all season."

Simpson, who was at the Interlink Express Stadium with assistant Dennis Booth when Stanley beat Hereford 2-1 in October, added: "Lee played well in that game and caused a few problems.

"Plus, Accrington are a tough, physical side so we know we're going to have to be on top of our game."

Title contenders Carlisle will be looking to recover from two consecutive defeats when they travel to Hyndburn tonight (kick-off 7.45pm).

Saturday's FA Cup second round defeat at Coca Cola League One side Bournemouth came on the back of a 2-1 loss at York City, who were relegated from the Football League with Carlisle last season.

But Stanley are also seeking a recovery after dropping points at Forest Green Rovers, despite beating their opponents for chances hands down.

Defender Robbie Williams, who had a first half header saved, said: "I don't know how that stayed out. But I probably headed it too well.

"I was all set to celebrate a goal because I hadn't seen the goalkeeper when I headed it down, but then I realised it hadn't gone in.

"If I'd have headed it straight it would have gone in.

"It's just frustrating because we seem to be losing against the teams down at the bottom who we should be picking up points from.

"I don't know the explanation for it, but we can't get down about it because we've got to look to the next game and improve.

"Everyone will be up for tonight's game."

He added: "When we went through that blip a while ago against teams like Farnborough, we weren't playing that well.

"I think we've been playing better recently but we're just lacking a little bit of luck.

"But a win tonight would be a great boost to us because we've got to hang on to the play-off places."

TONIGHT'S game is no longer all ticket. Supporters are advised to arrive early.