United media officer and first team kitman Andy Hall (AH) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Paul Braithwaite (PB) at just after five o'clock this evening ahead of Carlisle's scheduled Johnstone's Paint Trophy tie at home to Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow evening, Hall first giving a latest update on the Brunton Park playing surface in this wintry weather :
PB
How is the pitch looking at Brunton Park then?
AH
We are cautiously optimistic at the moment, we have had the covers on since just after full-time on Saturday and they seem to be doing the trick. We have got the Geo Fleece which has worked wonders over the last couple of seasons for us as well.
That has covered the areas that are more likely to freeze as well as the main cover that we use for the whole pitch anyway. As it stands, if it was played tonight then it would go ahead, so all we need now is for the weather to stay in our favour.
PB
That is a big if though, if the weather does get worse this evening can you maintain the pitch?
AH
What we are going to do if it does, we will have a look at the pitch at 9.30am, we will peel back the covers in those areas we know really freeze over and get hard. If there is any problem whatsoever than what we will do then is we will speak to the Football League authorities, we will let the match official (David Webb) know and we will take it from there. The plan is anyway to take the covers off at around midday so we will know more around or about 9.30am and more extensively at midday tomorrow.
PB
Was the pitch in good nick after the match at all on Saturday? Had it been churned up at all?
AH
No, it is a really good surface, it has had a lot of money spent on it over the last two or three years and every summer we tend to renovate it anyway and that does stand it in good stead, particularly for the hard winters that we get here in Cumbria.
PB
Right, it is an important match tomorrow of course, Sheffield Wednesday in the northern semi-final of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, how confident are the players?
AH
I think they are very confident, we went to Sheffield Wednesday not that long ago and everybody has tagged them as the team to beat in this division anyway, and rightly so as they are a very strong side.
But, we outplayed them and we were talking to their media people this morning because they wanted to know how the pitch was doing and they said we were one of only two teams who actually played them off the park this season. So, that shows how much respect they have got for us and all we have got to do is play the way that we know we can and onwards we will go.
PB
Right, they are not trying to lull you into a false sense of security there are they?
AH
No, I don't think so, I think it was genuine, we really did play well and it is the kind of football that we have been playing this season. When we have got ourselves on our game we have been really hard to beat, as they saw, and hopefully as they will see again tomorrow night.
PB
How do you feel about the FA Cup draw? I know Greg Abbott wasn't too thrilled about it?
AH
Well, it is when you are looking at 5.55pm and you are looking at that big long list of names and you are thinking about what you can have, and you get to the last team drawn out of the hat and you have got Torquay to go, it sort of takes the edge off it a little bit. But, it is the FA Cup, we are still in it, it is a winnable game, so I think the attitude has to be to go there, do our job and then let's see what we can get in round four.
PB
It might be a bit warmer in Torquay mind?
AH
I think it will be, I hope it will be anyway.