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 away to Coventry, Hall first talking about the excellent playing surface at the Ricoh Arena:
JP
It is a little bit cold because I suspect we are starting to head in earnest towards winter now, but a gorgeous day out there and I am sure the players and the fans will enjoy this one?
AH
Aye, a decent pitch as well, it will be right up there with Dave Mitchell and his crew looking after it this year, because we had a walk across it earlier and it is pretty good. The grass is a bit longer than we would have it, but that is no reflection on the surface underneath, so it will be a footballing day today I think.
JP
Just to clarify, Coventry haven't stolen Dave Mitchell, you were just comparing it with the wonderful pitch at Brunton Park?
AH
Yeah, exactly that, I had to scrape my car this morning, what is that all about?
JP
Dear me, let's talk about the new man then, Kallum Higginbotham in, of course we will hopefully speak to him fairly soon on BBC Radio Cumbria Sport, but what is he like?
AH
He is a great lad, we are going to try to get him up post-match as well for you, hopefully the fans will get their first chance to hear him away from the official website sort of arena, which is always important we think. Yeah, he is a great lad, I think he has had an unbelievably strange year, he has started off in Scotland, he has come across on transfer deadline day to Huddersfield, the manager (Lee Clark) has left, he was going to use him absolutely every single game.
Simon Grayson hasn't really used him, sent him to Barnsley, called him back, he has played in every game including the play-off final to the end of the season and then been frozen out again. So, I don't think he knows quite where he stands at the moment over in Huddersfield and hopefully we will give him somewhere to stand firmly in Carlisle.
JP
Doesn't know which way to turn at the moment. Joe Garner into the starting line-up as well, that will be one that will excite people listening back home?
AH
Well, I think we got a cameo of what Joe is on Tuesday night with his bullying, his being there, his presence, the way that he puts himself about. He is a great little player isn't he and if he can get back to anywhere near the form that we know he can produce, not just what he did with us in his first spell but what he did thereafter, particularly at Scunthorpe you know, then we have got ourselves one heck of a player.
JP
Funny game to look at, we were just discussing this with Chris Lumsdon, on the face of it Coventry are one of League One's strugglers, but you just couldn't put this down as one United should be winning could you because of what we know about the quality in their squad?
AH
And you are looking at (Gary) McSheffrey who has been called back into the starting line-up, somebody like that who you can actually drop, on occasions I think Richard Shaw hasn't even put him on the bench. So, when you have got a player of that quality who is not even featuring, then wow! And the bench has been bolstered by two of the three new signings that came in at the back end of this week, so you just don't know what you are going to get. Mark Robins, I mean the press downstairs was almost what we are going to have on Wednesday night, absolutely everywhere, because it is a big story with Mark Robins coming in and it will be interesting to see how their players react.
JP
Yeah, it certainly will and one or two big names in there. John Fleck is somebody who has been more used on the fringe of their squad having signed from Rangers, the sort of player one or two Carlisle fans maybe hoped United might get to see after Rangers's struggles over the summer. But, I suspect money was probably the difference between Coventry and United on that one?
AH
I think the one I am looking at is (David) McGoldrick, I watched him on television, was it last week whenever Coventry was the live game and he looked absolutely fantastic. You wonder why Forest weren't using him, but again that is what happens isn't it, players are really quality players at Championship level and they just don't get used. So, clubs down in League One, how crazy is it to be saying Coventry City down in League One, I can remember watching them in unbelievable FA Cup runs and all kinds of malarkies. So, anyway, they are here and we feel we can beat them.
JP
30-odd years in the top flight, over a decade in the Championship, all the time they were thinking of getting back up to the Premier League and now they find themselves here?
AH
Yeah, it is crazy, but how many of these teams have we seen over the last few years where the mighty have fallen. They have been not so mighty because we have taught them a few lessons, you can go Leeds, Charlton, you can go on Southampton, forever.
JP
Nottingham Forest?
AH
Nottingham Forest yeah, you could talk about Norwich City, we beat them 2-0 didn't we a couple of years ago. So, you could go on forever and the fact of the matter is you are where you are because of whatever has happened at your football club on the pitch. So, whatever happens off the pitch is irrelevant, on the pitch if you lose the points you get relegated.
JP
I can't help think Norwich were celebrating their own title victory that day, but yes you are right. The surface though as you have already mentioned is excellent, what sort of frame of mind have the United players been in because they at times in the last couple of games have just looked a bit uncomfortable in their own skin, like they are not entirely sure of how they are fitting into everything as they have been asked to play different systems. But, just maybe against Crewe an inkling that they were getting back into themselves?
AH
It was interesting speaking to Frank Simek, we got him downnstairs post-match, I can't remember who you got upstairs, I will leave that one, it doesn't matter anyway. We got Frank and Frank was saying that to them the Swindon game was a point gained and the Crewe game was two points dropped. It is interesting to hear a player say that, very honest and very candid from Frank.
So, it shows you that the mindset was that they felt that they should have been beating Crewe, and against Swindon even though they probably felt it is a home game and we should be doing it, on the day you have got to say Swindon were the better team. So, it is interesting to see that and the players acknowledged themselves that sometimes it is not going for them, but the important thing is that they are keeping a little unbeaten run going and this is one heck of a test to keep it going today.
JP
It certainly is, look, the very best of luck, hopefully we will be talking to your boss and our friend Mr Abbott after this and we will all be happy in his hometown?
AH
And I will do my best to get Kallum up as well, all the best today.