Carlisle United v Barnsley FC: Players' maturity was once a concern for Neill Collins, but not any more

The Reds' biggest League One defeat under the Scot came as a shock because steadiness has been a hallmark of their campaign.

Their only back-to-back losses came in August, and that fills Collins with confidence ahead of Tuesday's trip to Carlisle United.

"If you'd asked me in the first month of the season I probably would have been a bit concerned about the age profile in respect of how they may handle these situations," said Collins – not a novice but in his first season coaching in England after five years with Tampa Bay Rowdies.

"It gives us different aspects but actually I think the team have shown a great deal of experience and a good amount of resilience and the mentality that you associate more with experienced players."

Judging by Collins' comments, the stability of his team is down to a combination of clarity about what they are doing, unity and players more mature than their years.

"The players have always responded well," he reflected. "We've got a platform in terms of principles so when it goes wrong we assess what went wrong, learn it and move on.

"The players have always been really good at that.

"When things are going great, momentum's brilliant but when you have a little knock it's about how you respond and because we've got good players with good mentality we've been able to do that.

"People like (24-year-old captain) Jordan Williams and more experienced players like Devante (Cole), Cadds (Nicky) Cadden have done a great job of bringing the group together on and off the pitch.

"You can see they enjoy spending time together and seem to get on well with each other. They know they're trying to achieve something and I think as a staff we're just there to try and facilitate that and not get in the way too much."

Even at only 27, striker Sam Cosgrove is one of the older and more mature players, and thinks the attitude within the squad is crucial.

"The weekend was very tough to take," admitted the former Carlisle forward. "I think we got punished extremely harshly for the game – it wasn't a 5-1 game but we've still shipped five goals.

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"But it's a real good trait of this team that when we suffer disappointments and setbacks we always bounce back.

"I'm very confident we'll show a reaction on Tuesday.

“Hopefully it's obvious how committed the boys are to this team and this club and ultimately achieving our goal to get promoted. I think that's always in the back of our minds but there's a big never-say-die attitude.

"We've not had back-to-back defeats in my time. There's been plenty of games where we've started slowly and come from behind and given the fans plenty to shout about later on.

"It's that kind of never-say-attitude that runs throughout the team. It just shows how much we want this."

Although bottom-placed Carlisle looked doomed to return to League Two after one season in the third tier, their display at Oakwell in January, where they led 1-0 and dominated the first half before losing 2-1, should be a further guarantee against Brunton Park complacency.

Josh Benson has timed his return to fitness well with fellow midfielder Herbie Kane suspended for the next two games, but Collins is determined not to rush him.

Benson played 65 minutes for the under-21s against Wigan Athletic on Thursday, his first outing since November.

"You've got to recognise that 65 minutes in three or four months, it's just a sign of where we're at that he comes into contention but he's going to need more football to be ready to impact the team," warned Collins.