United media officer and first team kitman Andy Hall (AH) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) this afternoon ahead of Carlisle's League One match at home to Leyton Orient, Hall first talking about a change for the Blues at right-back :
JP
Great to see Andy Welsh back in there and Frank Simek as well after a little bit of a stunt to his return from injury?
AH
Yeah, Frankie twisted, well it wasn't a twist it was a little niggle with his ankle down at Preston and it is better not to risk it, particularly when you have got somebody with the quality that Chris Ribeiro had, so like for like replacement there wasn't a problem. For Andy it has been horrible hasn't it, I think it was the middle of September or whenever it was when he pulled his calf muscle and we haven't seen him since in a competitive sense.
But, he has been working away behind the scenes believe me, a very determined character is Andy, he came up north in the summer to make an impact, he will still wants to do that because he loves playing his football. He is a grumpy man the same way Jon-Paul McGovern is when he is not in the side, so we want to see Andy with a smile on his face again.
JP
Just one of those games though isn't it today, the lion's share of fans that I have spoken to have said that this is just the sort of game that we will come unstuck in after all of these good performances from us. I mean fans pointing to the Wycombe game for instance this season, but at plenty of others where Carlisle have come up against teams who you would expect them to compete well with after getting victories against teams who they were perhaps the underdogs against?
AH
Probably shouldn't say it but it is human nature, the likes of Preston, Huddersfield, Sheffield United take care of themselves, everybody from the fans all the way through to the players on the pitch are motivated. It is games like this where you do need to dig a little bit deeper, get yourself revved up, make sure that you are ready to go, that is on the terraces and on the pitch, and do the thing properly. Because, you are right, games like this where everybody comes down thinking that three points today and we are in the top six, everything hunky dory, that is when it goes wrong unless you go out there and do it properly during the 90 minutes.
JP
Did you manage to watch the Huddersfield game at Wycombe last night by any chance? In particular the five goals for Jordan Rhodes?
AH
No, but I did see the Jordan Rhodes extravaganza, was anybody else playing? Unbelievable. Will he still be a League One player come the end of the month? Hmmm.
JP
Just a little bit of an insight into life in the commentary box is that there has been no living with Paul Newton this morning because I remember in commentary when Carlisle drew 2-2 with Wycombe, Chris (Lumsdon) and myself talking about how good they were going forwards and how surprising it was to see them at that end of the table for that aspect.
But, on the same spin how dreadful they were at the back and I think the argument was that day that maybe United should have done more to exploit their weaknesses at the back, Paul Newton just said that they were a poor team and we perhaps hadn't done enough, and unfortunately after last night's showing there has been no living with him this morning?
AH
Yeah, it is one of those where it is League One isn't it, any team can beat any team on any given day, the number of times you hear people say that and it is very, very true. Wycombe could easily bounce back and win 2-0 or 3-0 in the next game because that is what you get at this level, you get players who when they are playing they play badly and they get punished, when they are playing well as certainly the top five or six teams are doing at the moment they tend to get some big scores along the way. So, that is just where we are at and that is what you have to deal with.
JP
On Leyton Orient today, when United beat them at the back end of August right at the start of the season, at that stage they had lost five out of five, they had scored two goals and they looked really, really bad and they were bottom of the table. Now, they are ten points above the relegation zone and a win today, let's hope that isn't the case, would bring them within four points of Carlisle United, it is amazing the turnaround they have had?
AH
We have seen it confidence-wise ourselves, the beginning of September we couldn't buy a win, all you need is to get that victory, get something under your belt, get a bit of belief in the dressing room and you start picking up the results again. We have seen the benefit of that from what we did from the middle of September onwards and we haven't stopped, it has just been like a steamroller, two defeats in fifteen or whatever it is that we are carrying in today, and that comes from hard work and a lot of it is in the head, it is confidence. If your players are confident then they are going to play football and try things that will either come off or they won't, and they will get away with things as well, so it is all going our way and long may it continue.
JP
A wonderful crowd for the Sheffield United game, understandably perhaps a lot of people making that commitment to come to that one on the Bank Holiday weekend as well, it does look with 25 minutes until kick-off like it won't be quite the crowd today. For any fans that are at home today thinking that they just can't be bothered, it is a little bit miserable out there, I could listen to it on the radio or what you have you, I could just follow it on the television, how important are those fans to the players. What do they say in the dressing room after a game like Sheffield United with the best part of 8,000 cheering for them?
AH
Oh, it is massive because it can create an atmosphere and it can create a feeling even if something has gone wrong, if there is a roar from a tackle it picks the players up and they react to that. How many times have we seen that at Brunton Park over the years, the game might not be going our way but a reaction from the Paddock or the Warwick Road End or the East Stand, and all of a sudden we are passing the ball, we are creating things and we are back into the game.
So, that is how important the fans are, on a financial level I really can't explain how important it is, if the club is going to move forward then we need the backing of the fans. We are fully aware that we have got to do our bit to bring them through the gates, but if they can come along then they really are helping us to move where we want to be.
JP
Always a pleasure, good luck today, let's hope we are talking about Carlisle United finally, I know that the manager (Greg Abbott) and I am sure he will be impressing it on the players doesn't think there is too much significance in being in that top six, but it would be nice come five o'clock wouldn't it just to see Carlisle in there, for you as a fan rather than as a media officer?
AH
Don't believe a word he says, the first thing everybody does when we get into that dressing room is look at the table, believe me.