|
JP
Another tough pre-season encounter for Carlisle United?
AC
Yeah, it has been tough tonight, they are a good outfit, but it is what we need building up towards the season. It is really coming close now and we have got Hibernian on Sunday so two real tough games before we kick off.
JP
In all honesty were you surprised by how much quality this Falkirk side had about them?
AC
Not really no considering they were in the SPL last year, got relegated. We knew they were going to be a handful and obviously Tony Caig played up here and he told us on the way up they would be a good handful and it would be a good workout for us, so we knew about them.
JP
And the goal that robbed you of your clean sheet, not much you can do I suppose when they clip the inside of the near-post?
AC
No, it almost hit the front of the post and sort of went in along the line. So, there is not much I can do about it but defensively we are not very happy about it. We are working hard on clean sheets and we want to keep clean sheets, so it is one to work on.
JP
What has the manager (Greg Abbott) said after the match then about his feelings on the game tonight?
AC
First-half we needed to move the ball a bit quicker, we were a bit slow, we had a lot of possession but when we were passing it we moved it a bit slower than we wanted to. In the second-half I thought we did a lot better, got into the channels a lot more and the front two looked a bit more lively. Obviously then we went a goal down but on the whole the second-half was better.
JP
Very interesting to talk to you as a player from within the Carlisle squad at the moment, because Francois Zoko remains a bit of an enigma. He has got his year long contract at Carlisle, the fans are delighted with that, but because of the language barrier and because we didn't know if he would sign, the fans don't know too much about him. What has it been like for a player just having somebody so different as Francois Zoko coming in?
AC
Yeah, he is different, he is a little bit like Joe Anyinsah was in a way player-wise, quite strong, pacey, not bad on the ball. But the language, he can speak a little bit of English but not too well. But he has fitted in really well considering he struggles with the language, he has fitted in really well and mixes with the boys in the dressing room, and I think he is going to be a great addition to the squad.
JP
Is it exciting to have someone who brings something, I think the term Greg Abbott has used is that he is just something different from what you have got?
AC
He is very different, you don't really know what is going to come from him. He can go past people with ease, he is good in the air, he is strong and he is a bit of a mixed bag and an unknown really.
JP
Has Dennis Booth managed to find him a nickname yet? I know Dennis is the nickname hander-outer.
AC
He is, I don't think he has yet, because he (Zoko) has been off for a few days getting things sorted so I haven't seen him for a few days, but I don't think Dennis has got anything sorted yet.
JP
I am sure something will come from Carlisle's Head of Football Affairs there. You of course here this season, this pre-season, going into the season as Carlisle's clear number one, how are you finding handling that? There is a different sort of pressure from perhaps when you are challenging for the number one spot when you are the standout man?
AC
It is something that I have enjoyed because you come in now and you know you are going to do all the hard miles in pre-season and hard work, but you know there is something there at the end of it. I am going to be playing against Brentford touch wood if I stay injury free and it is something really personally to aim for and you can set your own goals.
Whereas if you know you are going to be on the bench for the first game and you are doing all the running, it is a bit demoralising that you are putting all the miles in for nothing really, just to sit on the bench. But it has definitely given me a boost and we are working hard are me and Tony Caig.
JP
I bet there is more pressure this time around though isn't there?
AC
Erm, there is and there isn't.
JP
I am not trying to pile pressure on you, I am just saying that as being as that number one.
AC
Look, I came in from four leagues below at Workington and I got pushed into the team at MK Dons and that was a lot of pressure. A lot of people expected things of me and if I didn't take my chance there that was probably the end of my career almost, and I did. So, there was a lot of pressure on when I came into the team and I think I am at a level now where I can handle it and I am really looking forward to it at the moment more than anything else.
JP
And as you mentioned last season of course, you started the term on the bench. Reflecting on what you will have seen in front of you in those periods, where do you think this Carlisle United team is, squad is, in terms of how ready you are this time around in League One?
AC
I think we are ahead of where we were on fitness levels this season, and it just getting more games. I was just saying to the lads that it is probably the first 45 plus minutes that Frank (Simek) has played and getting that back four together and working with it in games rather than on the training field is important. So, again, Hibernian is a real important game for us, especially defensively getting to work together as a unit.
JP
The relationship in a back five for a football club, it is normally four defenders isn't it unless we are playing some fancy formation, but the back four and the goalkeeper is a very important relationship for a football club. How key is it now to get that extra defender who is going to be in there nailed down rather than have a series of trialists as you build up?
AC
Well it is very important, we do need a settled back five, the gaffer has said that. In the first meeting we had he said that we conceded too many sloppy goals last season and he wants to cut that out and get a real solid base. So, if we can get a solid back five together before Brentford then it will be really good.
JP
And what do you expect having played here against a Scottish Division One side, just out of the SPL as you say, to play one of the bigger boys of the SPL on Sunday, I am sure you will be back involved for that one?
AC
It is going to be hard, it is going to be just like the Newcastle game. It is going to be a real tough game on our home patch, and it will be a real good test for us just a week before the season kicks off.
JP
Yeah, it should be a very interesting game. Just finally, looking back on not just the start of last season but looking back to perhaps the days when you didn't quite make it at Newcastle and then your time with Workington Reds and getting that chance now. Do you sometimes have to pinch yourself a little bit about exactly how far you have come back up after some big knocks in your life?
AC
Yeah, it is difficult to say, people who probably don't play the game don't realise how big a jump it is from Workington to Carlisle and into League One. It was a massive jump and one which I am glad I handled OK. Last season couldn't have gone any better for me, I couldn't have dreamt it really. So, that is now all gone and I am just trying to push myself this season to do the best I can and try to get the club higher up the league.
JP
And they do say that the biggest test with goalkeepers is how you overcome mistakes. Without having someone like Lenny Pidgeley right behind you, a goalkeeper who was literally vying game on game to be in that line-up, is it harder for you to get over that sort of mistake when they come along? How do you find it this season?
AC
Not really, because we have got Caigy there who is quite able to play in the team and Mark Gillespie who is coming on leaps and bounds, so they are behind me pushing me. When I was at Workington I was the only goalkeeper there most of the time, and I find it not a problem at all, I just get on with it really.