By Jon Colman

Last updated 09:20, Friday, 03 October 2008

Carlisle United are seeking talks with the Football League over the escalating cost of policing matches at Brunton Park.

Peter Murphy: Knee ligament injury

The club were charged more than £25,000 for the policing of last month’s home clash with Leeds – which wiped out the profit United were aiming to make from the game.

The club are facing similar bills for further high-profile games such as the December 13 visit of Leicester, which has been designated a Category C+ game by police – their highest risk category which included more than 70 officers and as well as motorcyclists and other crowd control measures for the Leeds game.

United last night said they were planning to raise the matter with the League and city MP Eric Martlew. “The figures now involved for policing matches at this level are the sort that will put clubs out of business,” said joint owner and managing director John Nixon.

“We are taking it further and involving our local MP and the Football League. We just cannot afford to sit back and let this situation continue.

“We fully respect the issue of public safety and we want to continue working with Cumbria Police but we feel the costs we are being presented with are now becoming a grave problem.”

United manager John Ward, meanwhile, says the two-week lay-off required by Peter Murphy is “a conservative estimate” as the centre-half recovers from a medial knee ligament injury.

The long-serving defender saw a specialist this week after concerns the problem was not healing as quickly as anticipated.

Ward believes his stumbling team are entering a crucial period which will help define their season, with tomorrow’s League One visit of Tranmere being followed by Tuesday night’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy second round trip to Rochdale (Spotland, 7.45pm).

“The next two or three weeks are important for our club in terms of putting our marker down in the league and pushing on in the cup,” said the manager, who suggested he would make changes for Tuesday’s tie.

“It’s the first time we have been out of the front-runners for 12 months and we’ve got to try and get back in there. And Rochdale is a big game to get us on a cup run. There have been a lot of questions lately and it’s up to us to provide the answers.”

United’s youth team will bid to extend their three-game winning sequence at Morecambe tomorrow (kick-off 11am).