The 18-year-old impressed on his Carlisle debut as the Cumbrians ended a winless 12-match run with Saturday's 3-1 League One success against Brighton.

He enjoyed the occasion of his senior debut, and hopes Black Cats manager Roy Keane will follow his progress.

Liddle said: "Hopefully I'll get my chance at Sunderland if I do well in this loan spell. The gaffer has shown he's not afraid to throw young lads in if they're doing well.

"He's a good manager. What you see is what you get. He'll tell you when you're doing bad, and if you're doing well you'll get rewarded."

Liddle, though, admitted to butterflies in his stomach ahead of his Carlisle bow.

He added: "I was a bag of nerves, but thankfully all the staff and the players were helping me, telling me to relax.

"It made me feel a bit calmer, but it didn't stop the nerves completely.

"It was a brilliant introduction – a win, a good performance, I couldn't ask for more.

"After coming straight into training on Friday, I couldn't believe how the club has been doing so badly, because the way they trained I had seen they are a good team and we proved it against Brighton.

"Now I know we can push on. If we keep putting in those performances I'm sure we can push up the league.

"I've been talking to Kav (on-loan Sunderland midfielder Graham Kavanagh) before I came over here, and he said they are a good bunch of lads and it's just a confidence issue at the minute."

Liddle is gutted to miss out on tonight's FA Cup replay at non-league Grays Athletic – having not been registered for the original tie.

The Republic of Ireland Under-21 cap added: "Hopefully the lads will go down there and do a job and get into the next round, and I'll be able to play then."