KEITH Curle insists his big ambitions for Carlisle United ARE matched by the club’s under-fire owners.

Curle said the Blues’ top brass are “singing from the same hymnsheet” as the man they are set to tie to a new contract.

The United boss’s claim came as he said he was finally ready to sign his two-and-a-half year deal after nearly three months of negotiation.

silence

The deal comes despite continued silence from United’s owners on the £2 million investment plan, involving local businesses and United’s official supporters club, which was apparently rebuffed last week.

That news triggered criticism from fans about the owners’ ambitions.

But asked by the News & Star if they shared his own vision 100 per cent, Curle said: “Definitely.

“Part of the conversations have been about where we see the club going and in what direction.

“It’s all levelled on improvement of the football department in all aspects – youth, development of players, the foundations of the philosophy we’re trying to build, facilities, our training schedule, everything down to catering and travel.

“Everything has been documented as part of the contract, which means we’re striving and all going in the same direction.”

While Curle said he was prepared to sign the deal “on the [team] coach” before Carlisle left Newport on Saturday, it has not yet been confirmed that he has put pen to paper.

The manager, though, insisted he had resolved all the areas that had been holding up the deal, which was originally announced as “agreed” in November.

He also said United have been paying him under the terms of the new deal since November.

Curle, who had talks with owners Andrew Jenkins and John Nixon on Friday, said: “It was purely a case of the finer detail being put down in print that matched the understanding that the chairman, myself and John had.

“There’s a quote in a film called Law Abiding Citizen – ‘it’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove in court’.

“It’s exactly the same with your contract. It’s not what I know to be right, or what the chairman and John Nixon or the club deem to be right - it’s what is down on paper, that is essential for all contract negotiations.”

Curle, whose side remained 12th in League Two after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat, said the contract represented a “massive step” for both himself and the club.

It is the longest deal handed to a manager at Brunton Park since the four-year term signed by John Ward in 2007.

Despite the contract news, there remains no comment from the Blues’ hierarchy about the CUOSC investment offer, revealed by our sister paper The Cumberland News on Friday.

The News & Star again requested comment but were told that director of external affairs Nixon was unavailable this week.

Nixon, Jenkins and fellow joint owner Steven Pattison all attended Saturday’s game.