Steven Pressley wants Carlisle United to end their long wait for back-to-back wins in order to prove they can leave the bottom half of League Two behind.

United’s boss has called for “consistency” from his 16th-placed side, who go to high-flying Newport County on Saturday.

Carlisle have not won successive league fixtures since January – Pressley’s first two games in charge against Cheltenham and Port Vale.

Their bid to end that wait will come against one of the Blues’ bogey teams, with United having only taken one point from five visits to Rodney Parade.

Pressley, though, feels that in an inconsistent division there are opportunities for any side that can put a run together.

The manager, whose side beat Oldham at Brunton Park last weekend, said: “That’s the target – consistency.

“We’ve shown some green shoots of consistency but if we’re going to be a team that are pushing at the top end we certainly need more.

“The truth is that, apart from three or four teams, there’s not many at this moment showing huge consistency.

“But we certainly have to show more than we have thus far.”

This weekend’s sixth-placed opponents have lost just once in their 11 league outings so far and sit two points behind leaders Exeter.

Mike Flynn’s side – last season’s losing play-off finalists – are unbeaten at Rodney Parade in League Two so far, and have kept seven clean sheets.

Pressley said: “They’ve got a very good manager, a set way they play and that’s a consideration for us.

“They’ve kicked on again, have had a lot of stability at the club and seem to be getting better season on season.

“It will be a really tough game for us but I think we’ve performed well away from home in recent games. At Bradford we lost but performed well, and prior to that we won two in a row [at Scunthorpe and Stevenage]. We should go there with confidence.”

Pressley must decide whether to bring Jack Bridge back into his side with the midfielder available after suspension.

Stefan Scougall is continuing his bid for fitness in the hope he can return to the squad after a hamstring injury.

Flynn reckons his team can go unnoticed in the early challenge for positions near the top of League Two.

“It’s lovely being up where we are but we want to keep going under the radar, keep surprising people and keep being the underdogs – that’s fine by us,” he said.

Carlisle’s last away win against Newport came at Somerton Park in 1988, during the Welsh side’s last in the Football League before going bust and later reforming.