Rob Elliot's Strategy for David Ajiboye in National League

Rob Elliot thinks the key to unlocking David Ajiboye this season might be as simple as turning him around.

The Carlisle United winger, so effective cutting in from the right in the second half of last season under Mark Hughes, is now being primed for a starring role on the opposite flank as the Blues open their National League campaign against Worthing.

A winger turned inside out

Elliot has spent pre-season nudging Ajiboye from right to left, and he’s seen enough to believe the 27-year-old could be even more dangerous there in 2026/27.

“David's left-footed crossing is excellent. So when he goes to the byline, he's got that opportunity,” the head coach told the News & Star, outlining the thinking behind the switch.

Ajiboye’s game has always had that duality. He likes to drift, to step infield, to play on the half-turn rather than hug the touchline for 90 minutes. Elliot wants to lean into that instinct, not fight it.

“We just felt like coming onto his right foot [from the left], which saw him score a few goals in pre-season, really suits him.”

So the change is not a gimmick. It’s a deliberate attempt to hand Ajiboye both weapons: the old-school winger’s route to the outside and the modern wide forward’s drive infield to shoot.

“He's able to then open up the pitch on both sides,” Elliot said. “He can go down the outside and he can come inside.”

For defenders, that’s a nightmare. Show him one way and he can hurt you the other.

Rotation, not rigid roles

This isn’t just about one player, either. Elliot is trying to loosen Carlisle’s whole attacking structure.

“We also like the rotation with Regan [Linney],” he explained. “David and Regan have rotated in and out of those positions when Regan's played up front with Georgie [Kelly].

“It gives that flexibility for our forward players to not be locked down to one position.”

That fluidity is central to Elliot’s plan. When games stall, he wants his forwards to be able to change the picture without waiting for a substitution board to go up.

“Hopefully, when you come up against teams when, for five or ten minutes, you might not get the effectiveness that you want – David might not find the ball or Regan might not find the ball or whoever it might be – it gives them the ability to move and rotate.

“That way we cause more problems and give teams less time to adapt to what we're doing.”

Ajiboye has already shown he can thrive on the right. Under Hughes, he grew into one of Carlisle’s sharper threats in that role in the latter part of last season. Elliot is gambling that a tweak, not a tear-up, can push him onto another level.

Inside track on Worthing

Today, the winger’s importance goes beyond tactics. He also knows the opposition manager inside out.

Ajiboye is expected to shake off a back issue to feature against Worthing, whose boss Adam Hinshelwood has coached him at three different clubs.

The pair first crossed paths in Brighton & Hove Albion’s academy, before Hinshelwood brought him to Worthing and later to York City. Few in the Carlisle dressing room will understand the Worthing manager’s methods better.

On whether he plans to tap into that knowledge, Elliot smiled: “We'll have a chat.

“The way his [Hinshelwood's] teams play are clear, and you can understand they're going to want to dominate the ball.

“They're not going to put it at risk unless it's through being creative.”

Carlisle have already had a close-up view of a Hinshelwood side at full flow.

“We saw what his team at York did. They were a brilliant team to watch, played some fantastic attacking football. He's gone to Worthing and nothing's changed.

“They're going to be an excellent team. They're going to cause a lot of problems. So it's a really good test for us because we'll have to be on our mettle in terms of with the ball and without the ball.

“Hopefully with David, because he knows it, it'll give him that edge as well if he's on the pitch.”

A winger on the “wrong” side, facing a manager who helped shape his career, in a system built on rotation and risk. For Elliot and Carlisle, the experiment starts now.