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"I want to go into the game very positively. There are one or two little knocks and bruises which we'll need to have a look at, but we'll put out a very positive side, and a very strong side. The game is very important to us. We want to go as far as we can in every competition and that includes the Carling Cup.
"Some of the younger players may creep into the squad. We've got a lot of lads who haven't played enough football so they will play first and foremost. Having said that we want to get back on track and get a nice win under our belts. That's not going to be easy; Carlisle are notoriously difficult in cup games.
"I've had them watched and I'll watch the video of them myself so we are well aware of their strengths. It's going to be an interesting test for sure. It's a big game for us and we've got to approach it in the right fashion. We're going to go all out to win the game.
"It certainly is a frustration. When you look at it we're missing four or five people who would be in the team - Djimi Traore, Andy Reid, Souleymane Diawara and Bryan Hughes would all be involved. That's a lot of personnel to be out, plus we've got one or two little niggles.
"When you want to play that all-out attacking style, you need to play a side that's got plenty of pace in lots of areas, particularly defensively. And we've lost Traore and Diawara who add a lot of pace, plus Hermann Hreidarsson [suspension] who has been a major defender for us.
"I don't like to use this word, but I think we were unlucky to lose to Portsmouth on Saturday. It's not like we're playing abysmally badly and losing heavily, we're losing by the odd goal. But we must turn that around through working hard, staying together, not getting nervous and continuing to be brave. If we do those things we'll be fine.
"After the Arsenal game, hopefully we'll be clear of the injuries. But we've got to go to Aston Villa before that and get a result, and Carlisle on Tuesday night is a very, very important game for us. I'm very much looking forward to the game. Neil (McDonald) was a good help to me last year and he's started the season well with them. I'm delighted for him - it'll be interesting to see him and have a few words - but I won't wish him well until the end of the night!"