United media officer and first team kitman Andy Hall (AH) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) ahead of Carlisle's League One match at home to Rochdale, Hall first talking about his legion of helpers down at Brunton Park :
JP
You have got a number of assistants I notice these days by the way, you are the kit man and the media man but you seem to have assistants in both roles. Are you starting to become more of a pillar now?
AH
It is the only way to do it really isn't it, take all the glory and let everybody else do the work.
JP
All this talk about how he is ubiquitous and he does everything and he has got more assistants these days than I have. I have got Jeff Thorpe at the moment trying to figure out how Rochdale line up for me, I have got someone making the tea for me but I claim to do all the hard work, I am just the same as you are.
AH
Absolutely, I do believe it is the only way to do it, take the pats on the back when they come.
JP
Look, in terms of Carlisle tonight, an unchanged squad, certainly an unchanged starting eleven, just one change on the bench as you have just pointed out to me, Ben Mckenna coming in for Andy Cook. Is Greg Abbott essentially saying 'look, a blip at the weekend, you lads who that happened to go out and prove that it was just a blip'?
AH
Absolutely that, we were on a great run before that Walsall performance weren't we. I think you have got to hold your hands up and say we all expected to go to Walsall and win the game. It didn't pan out that way but that is football, that is League One football definitely. So, the job tonight is for those same eleven lads to get out there and show everybody what they can do again.
JP
What has the talk been like over the last few days? What is the atmosphere? Because, winning sort of breeds winning doesn't it and a defeat like that coming after quite a long period without one must have been a bit of a shock to the system?
AH
Annoyance more than anything, because I think everybody knows that it didn't quite go the way that they wanted it to. You can never put your finger on why, if you could you would be top of every league in the world wouldn't you. But, it happened and the job now is to get out there and do it properly.
JP
Did anything different happen with the strikers this week? They have not been finding goals hard to come by in fairness but the two free-kicks from Walsall, the first one was freak, it was an excellent, outstanding free-kick. The second one just very well worked but it almost looked like Carlisle, the game was still there for them had they been able to find their way through?
AH
Yeah, that last 20 minutes or so was frustrating wasn't it. You have got Ben Marshall who has found his feet as he can, you have got Gary Madine causing problems with his strength and his size and presence in the box.
But, it just wouldn't quite go for us, and I think when I was doing the extended highlights for the Player subscribers, the chance that Gary had when it came back off the angle of post and bar, any other day of the week that wouldn't get anywhere near the woodwork, it just crashes into the back of the net. It was just one of those days.
JP
Now I have to be very careful as regards anything that might appear to be anything like advertising, but it is worth noting that tonight's sponsors have done something that has led to a lot of people basically coming here to get the chance to watch a game of football that they might not have done otherwise.
AH
We have said it before about them, they have been our shirt sponsors into the 16th season, they have agreed another two year extension to that. It is unbelievable for a club like Carlisle United to have a world recognised name, brand name like, can I say it, Stobart on the shirt and then supporting us all the way, and they do, they really do.
We can't thank them enough and they are having, as part of their 40th birthday celebration, they are using the hospitality at Brunton Park tonight. They have put the tickets out to families, disadvantaged people, everybody you can imagine from schools up to adults to get them down here tonight. I think I said it to the newspaper the other day, it sums up the kind of firm that they are and the backing that they give us.
JP
Yeah, it is great to see them and great to see that we have got their screen here again tonight to help us with any of those goals where Thorpey or myself might just miss in the crowd of bodies who gets one. Not that we have to rely on that at any point. In terms of this, it is another run of home games now, we were trying to figure out whether Carlisle have ever had seven games in a calendar month at Brunton Park?
AH
Not that I can recall, we have had a dig through the record books as well and I have never seen anything like this. David Dent who is the Honorary President was talking the other night that he has never known anything like it.
He was wanting to pat the lads on the back, he wanted to get down to the dressing room because they had had four wins in a row. He just said that that doesn't happen at home, it just does not happen, so for us to have achieved that, it doesn't matter whether Tipton kicked it off or not. It is still an achievement and let's go again after that Walsall blip.
JP
But now another three, just in terms of the logistics of it for the club, it can't be easy having that many games. People are undoubtedly going to pick and choose which ones to come to in terms of those that they can afford.
AH
That is why at the AGM when we had it we sat and talked with the people who were there about the fact that we do have to look at how we are structuring season ticket prices for next season. Always in the back of your mind, and we mentioned this the other day, and it got a bit glib with the Premier League getting mentioned.
But, the serious aim for this club has to be the Championship, it is not that long ago that we were there. We are sure we can do it again, but in the backdrop to that is this financial situation, the fact that we need fans through the gates, that is a reality. We need more than an average of 5,200, that is a certainty.
But, if we are not getting that, if we are getting 5,200 then we have to run the club still with the aim of the Championship in mind. But, having a look at other areas where we could perhaps restructure, reshape ourselves and still keep pushing forward.
JP
You just hope that you don't lose any of your assistants, you wouldn't like to have to do all of the work?
AH
I don't pay them so we are alright.