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 Swindon on Saturday afternoon, Hall first talking about the fracas late on in United's 1-0 win at Oldham on Tuesday night :
JP
We must start with talking about this charge for Carlisle United and Oldham over the fracas in Tuesday night's victory. Amazing that United have been tarred with the same brush on that one?
AH
We are surprised, it took me off guard, it is probably partly my job to think about what we are going to do when these kinds of things come in. I have honestly been sat on my hands on this one this week, I will probably take criticism for that now that I have said that but we just didn't expect it.
It is one of those situations where players do square up to each other in games and you tend to see nothing come from it. But, because this one went a couple of stages further, not on the Carlisle United side I would hasten to add, it has gone to the FA for them to levy charges. We have had the charge E20 as it is called by them for failing to control our players on the field of play.
So, we are going to have to answer that one, which we are allowed to do over the course of three working days, so we will have until Tuesday to give our response to that. And we will give a vigourous response because we genuinely are surprised that we have been charged and because we did nothing wrong and we shouldn't really be in this position.
JP
What sort of things do you do in there? Can you use BBC Radio Cumbria's commentary of it? Can you use the television footage or that sort of thing?
AH
I think the key thing is to say that we haven't actually seen the paperwork that has come from the FA yet. We are doing this as we travel down to Swindon, the important thing there would be to see what they are saying and then we will take our right to reply. In that case if we do find ourselves with a robust charge from the FA, we can answer it using evidence and we can call on all of those things that you have just said.
JP
Interesting isn't it after the Southampton game, Carlisle kind of felt that they had a bit of a chip on their shoulder about the way that everything happened in that match, and really took it into the Oldham game and really scrapped with a team who build their performance around scrapping. Now something else that the club can quite rightly perhaps feel wronged by that you can perhaps take into the game at Swindon tomorrow?
AH
Well, that is the case and the spirit in the team has been fantastic anyway. The run was poor, nobody is going to shy away from that and we needed something to change that around. I think the way the game went 20 minutes or so, they looked absolutely fantastic did Oldham and you can see why they were at the time in the top seven places.
But, once we got through that 20 minutes we started to control it and it looked for long periods like we were the side that were going to take the lead. I heard Greg (Abbott) talking about his team-talk and I can honestly say that I have been in a year and a half's worth now and I have never seen anything like it the way he did that.
It was something else that he had in his locker, he has never used it before, but it was extremely, I use the word aggressive because he was asking the questions of the players, why are we here?, why are we in this situation? You are better than this, go and show it, and they responded to it.
I don't think it is something he would do every week, but I even said to him afterwards that I had never seen him do that, and he said that no he hadn't, something else in the locker.
JP
You hear all sorts don't you? I think Davie Irons at Gretna when they were trying to get into the SPL played them the Al Pacino speech from Any Given Sunday. He didn't say anything himself, he played them that and really got them inspired, it is whatever it takes is right on the day isn't it?
AH
We have heard criticism before and I think you may even have asked the question once about what actually happens in the team-talk when we have had a poor performance. Because, people rightly ask what happened, did anything actually happen?, why weren't the players motivated? The hairs were up on the back of my neck for that one on Tuesday night.
There have been a couple of times when I have walked to you when you have been off air and I have said that there is a good feeling and that something is going to happen, and we have tended to win those games and it was exactly that on Tuesday night.
JP
And how has the feeling around the camp been? I know you are around everyone more than anyone except for perhaps the manager and the assistant. How has the mood been? How has it changed and evolved over the last week or so ahead of a game like this? Again, when some people will look at Swindon despite all their qualities and say Carlisle should go there and get something?
AH
Extremely positive, we needed Tuesday night, we really needed to get a victory. If it had been a good performance and a 0-0 draw it would have been just as good, but to get the victory on the back of what was a........ You thoroughly deserve it, you don't always get what you deserve in this game, we did on Tuesday night, that is something to pick up on the back of the second-half at Southampton.
If we can take that into Swindon, Swindon will be tough because they will scrap for everything as Greg has reminded the players today. But, if they take that kind of attitude that they had on Tuesday night then we won't go far wrong.
JP
And how has Craig Curran been? We have just seen him walking past there, he looked in fairly good spirits. I have made no secret of the fact that I am a fan of Craig Curran, I admire him, but as a striker you need to score goals, there is no doubt about that. He got one, but he needs to keep finding them doesn't he?
AH
He keeps his feet on the floor does Craig and that is exactly what he says himself. He hasn't been bouncing around as if look at me I got us the three points. He has been saying in training that he needs to be doing it more, he wants to be doing it more.
So, again he stayed behind, as he does, they have to stop him do the coaching staff. The coaching staff have to stop him from staying afterwards because he will do too much if you let him. That is how keen he is to really make a mark, because again, I think Greg said it probably on the radio on Tuesday night, if he could add goals to his game then who knows where he would go.