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"I can't speak highly enough of the commitment the players showed and to go for more than an hour with nine men at Brighton was just superb. We have had two fantastic away results now at Brighton and at Bristol Rovers the week before.
"And if we can reach the performance levels we reached in those games against Carlisle, we will give ourselves a very good chance of winning the game. We have set our standards and levels of performance now and I will be looking for the lads to reproduce them.
"It has taken a couple of days I must admit, but we are back down to earth, feet on the ground and preparations underway for Carlisle now. I'm quite emotional and when I say a group of players go out and give what they gave for the cause, and for the supporters, and for themselves of course, it was a fantastic experience to see them go through it. I just felt that when I was speaking to them in the dressing-room afterwards, it's just me, that is just the way I am.
"I am passionate about my game, I am passionate about my players and I am passionate about my football club. I enjoy my job, I love my job, I love this football club and I think that the supporters are fantastic and the players are fantastic. When they give that sort of performance then that is me, that is just the way that I react and you will never change me I can tell you. There was a stage late on in the game where the lads' legs must have been on borrowed time.
" We had two banks of four, one on the edge of the box and one 15 yards in front of them and we had cleared the ball from one of the attacks that Brighton had put on us and obviously we had nothing upfront to chase it down. I looked at the lads and they never moved, and we normally say to them to get out five or ten yards in relation to the ball but they never moved. They just looked at the Brighton players as if to say to come on and have another go but you aren't going to get through. That was the way they were on Saturday and it was fantastic.
"I've looked at both tackles on the DVD and I think the referee was quite right to give them red cards. Both players have since apologised to me but it has certainly cut our options down for this weekend. It's gone now, now we have to get down to the nitty gritty.""They go into this Saturday, 11 versus 11, and hopefully it will stay 11 versus 11, but it will be a completely different situation. I have seen it too many times. We have to be prepared for a different game, a different tactical situation and a different physical situation. Unless you have been in the game, you don't really understand and appreciate the effort and determination that nine men pulled together to get a performance like they did last Saturday.
"It has gone now though and we have got our preparations underway now for Carlisle because it is going to be a very tough game. John Ward I have known many, many years, a good friend, a very good manager, a very, very good manager, a good tactician and a good coach. He will have his team very, very well prepared for our game so we are going to have to be prepared and patient because I think that patience is going to be a big word on Saturday.
"For us to get the result that we want we are going to have to work damned hard. Carlisle are a very, very good team and they deserved to get in the play-offs last year. He has assembled a good squad and they are a great footballing team but also one that is tough to break down. And we will certainly have to be at our best to get anything from the game.
"In my opinion Carlisle are a wounded animal after their defeat against Leeds. From what I have heard they didn't deserve to lose, they want to bounce back as quickly as possible. We have to be aware that even though we have had two fantastic results on the road, we are at home against a very, very good footballing side. We have got to be aware so we don't fall into the trap, like we did against Leyton Orient.
"I'm not taking much notice of the table, there's a long, long way to go yet. From a player's and supporter's point of view it is always good reading when you are up there with the leading pack. We have got the incentive to be up there with them. We are still in there with the big boys but I am not kidding anyone, it is going to be a tough game on Saturday.
"We want to show people we can perform at home as we have done on the road. With the expectation of two great results on the road, people will want us to win. I hope that there are enough people in the ground willing us to do that."