Reds central midfielder Luke Joyce spoke to the official Accrington Stanley website ahead of his side's Johnstone's Paint Trophy first round tie at home to Carlisle this evening, the former United man looking forward to the game :
"I suppose it adds that extra almost importance for me being against my former club and obviously I want to do well against a club that I played for and a manager who I played for and released me from Carlisle. I did quite well when I was there and played a few games and it is not so much a grudge match or a chance got me to get revenge or anything like that. The most important thing is that Accrington do well and hopefully we can go and win the game.
"I think they are actually only three or four players there who are still at Carlisle, it is not like it is the whole squad, the backroom staff is pretty much the same though so it will be nice to see them and say hello. I was there for three years and I made good friends and you get to know people quite well so it will be nice to see them. But, we have gone two games unbeaten now, you want to keep that run going, build up some momentum, and at the end of the competition there is a final at Wembley, so I think that is enough motivation for everyone."
While Reds assistant boss Jimmy Bell commented to the Stanley website :
"We’re getting some consistency after such a strange result at Port Vale. I think they only went in our box four times and they scored four goals. We analysed that video, and I think it was a freak result. But this time last year we were in a similar position. I think we had seven or eight clean sheets on the bounce, and I think the goals will start to come soon. We want to go out and win the game and get ourselves on a run. That’s two games now, and we want to carry on the way that we’re playing.”
And goalkeeper Sean Murdoch told his club's official website :
"Carlisle are the holders so it’s going to be a great game. It’s an important game to win and everyone in the squad will want to play. We’ve got a lot of great players who can’t even get on the bench. These are the kind of options the manager’s got. Whoever he chooses, we all know that they’ll give 100%.”
In team news for the home side this evening they will firstly be missing three players through suspension after having both former United-loanee Kevin Long and Charlie Barnett sent off in a 0-0 draw at Barnet on Saturday. Centre-half Long serving a one-match ban after seeing red for a professional foul while midfielder Charlie Barnett is sidelined for three matches after receiving his marching orders for a bad tackle.
The other Red suspended being midfielder Nat Taylor who is currently out on the back of a massive 35-day suspension after picking up a red card with Accrington and Rossendale College last season. The other definite absentee for Stanley this evening being 20-year old Barnsley-loanee defender Kern Miller who is sidelined at the moment with a broken jaw.
The referee for tonight's match is Chris Foy from St Helens and he will be assisted down the lines by Gordon Johnson from Ormskirk and Richard Bartlett from Sale in Cheshire. Meanwhile the fourth official is Jonathan Hunt from Liverpool. The set of officials perhaps responsible tonight for overseeing a penalty shootout, with no extra time if the scores are level after 90 minutes, in a competition in which there are five substitutes allowed on the bench.