Carlisle boss Paul Simpson says there was “a huge gulf” between his side and Wanderers at Brunton Park.

The White ran out 4-1 winners thanks to goals from Zac Ashworth, Paris Maghoma, Kyle Dempsey and new signing Nathanael Ogbeta.

Jordan Gibson’s strike gave the hosts a bit of hope in the second half but Ian Evatt’s side regained control of the contest.

Simpson was impressed by Bolton’s quality but was left ruing mistakes in the build-up to the first couple of goals.

“It was blatantly obvious we were beaten by a far better side today,” said the Carlisle chief. “They were sharper onto the ball and kept it better than we did.

“They had lots of possession first half, we maybe got away with a few things which is going to happen early on. But if you look at the two goals, both came from us giving the ball away.

“We tried to lay it off and gave it straight to them. They are basic things but we aren’t doing them very well.

“Second half, we made changes with Jordan and Jack coming on. I thought they added more energy to us and gave us a bit of life. The change of shape in the first half also gave us a bit of life.

“We just didn’t have that quality up there to be able to go and get ourselves back in it. It was a fantastic strike by Gibbo to get us to 2-1 and then you are just hoping we can nick something.

“The third goal just before 90 minutes knocks the stuffing right out of you. There was a huge gulf between the two teams and I think we have to be honest about that.”

The result sees Wanderers climb into the automatic places, while Carlisle remain 23rd in the table and 10 points from safety.