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"They are in a strong position for a starting place tonight. We turned up for training yesterday and there were more injured and non players than there were fit. I think we counted 15 players not available. That shows you what we are up against. We have lost Robbo (Christian Roberts), (Lee) Peacock, (Kaid) Mohamed, Steve Adams, Jamie Vincent, Phil Smith and Ady Williams, we have suspensions and the list is endless.
"The under-18s play exactly the same way as the first team. If Lloyd Macklin comes into the side he will know exactly what needs to be done. That is what it is all about. The transition will hopefully be as smooth as possible. Ben Tozer has come in and done a great job. Lloyd, if he comes in, will give it his best shot and hopefully it will be good enough. Or we put Chris Allen in on the right and we will change the way we approach the game."
"Carlisle are fourth in the league. I know John Ward personally, a fantastic manager and a fantastic guy and you can see the changes he has made already. If we are to come away with anything we will have to step up our game. I am not the only person in this position. I am sure other managers have an injury list that could frighten the life out of people.
"We have got a squad, depleted yes, but in heart it is massive and sometimes that is worth two or three players on its own. We have to go to Carlisle with two kids and the squad that is still able from Saturday. It is going to be difficult but we are confident we can come away with something."
Meanwhile striker Blair Sturrock, the son of former Town boss Paul Sturrock, commented :
"We have to close Carlisle down and stop them from playing because they are at home. A lot of the time in this division you go away, try to get the first goal and then consolidate and look after it. We've just got to go there, fight our corner and do what we're good at.
"Coming on for the last 30 minutes of games is what I did for Plymouth so I'm more than used to it. Hopefully I can get a few more starts now but it depends what Budgie (Dave Byrne) and Ady (Williams) want to do. Coxy (Simon Cox) is back now, so he will be fresh and rested. We'll just have to wait and see what they decide to go with.
"I've done everything, I've travelled up from Plymouth to Carlisle on the day, I've been up to play Rochdale from Plymouth and it's been rained off, so I'm used to the long trips. I used to play computer games, but now I'll produce a couple of DVDs and watch those to stop the boredom. It won't bother me."
Veteran defender Ady Williams, who is helping out caretaker manager Byrne after the departure of Sturrock to Plymouth, spoke about his own comeback from a recent knee injury :
"I'm getting somewhere close now, so hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll be knocking on the door for a place in the squad. Ben Tozer is still learning the game and it's good for him to play alongside an experienced player like Hasney (Aljofree) - who I thought was outstanding against Forest Green. Tozer will just get better and better. He's not the finished article by any stretch of the imagination, but it's very handy that you can throw in a young lad who is up to it.
"Travelling up the day before gives the lads a little respite on the day of the game. I speak to players and managers in this division and they all tell me Carlisle are a decent side. John Ward has gone up there and done a fantastic job. But we've gone to places in the past and performed well away from home and I'm looking for another fantastic response from the boys."