United media officer Andy Hall (AH) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) this afternoon ahead of Carlisle's FA Cup first round match at home to Ebbsfleet, Hall first talking about the competition as a whole:
JP
The FA Cup is here at Brunton Park, great news?
AH
Best competition in the world isn't it, it doesn't matter which way you dress it up, even the later rounds when it seems to be all of the big boys who are just left, it has still got something about it and everybody wants to win it, everybody at the lower levels wants to get as far as they can. Let's not make any mistake about it, that's what Ebbsfleet will be thinking today.
JP
They certainly will, fantastic wasn't it when Carlisle were the other side of this in that match at Everton in recent seasons. Brilliant day it was, United went there, flogged a goal, got back level, very exciting, eventually lost, but it wasn't really about that, it was about the fact that they went there and they had that opportunity to play against a very well known Premier League side, and that is what this provides for Ebbsfleet?
AH
Absolutely that, let's remember that if Danny Livesey's volley from the edge of the box had gone in we might have been looking at a real shock. So, that is probably a lesson for us today, you can't take anything for granted, it doesn't matter who the opposition are. There are eleven lads out there who will come here to try to win the game, so let's do it properly. You would like to think that the qualities in the squad will see us through but the proof is in the pudding.
JP
You are the man on the inside for us, only as much as you are allowed to be of course, six on the bench for Carlisle today, what is the story there?
AH
Yeah, Mark Beck had an injury last night, he broke his finger in an innocuous thing at home, but it is one of those that he has had to have a little bit of treatment on it and it has ruled him out for today. Everybody else is injured so that means that we have only six got people on the bench.
JP
Don't fancy getting yourself on there, getting a squad number quickly ironed onto the back of your shirt?
AH
If only eh.
JP
Yeah, it would be great wouldn't it, there is Josh Todd on there, great news for him, Alessio Bugno as well having a look in again, and Jon-Paul McGovern back, great news for him?
AH
Yeah, he is a fit lad anyway, I think we haven't seen the best of him this season because of that swelling that he got post operation with the hernia operation that he had. So, he has had to deal with that, in the end it beat him, he had to go away and get another intricate operation done. He has trained really well this week so the manager (Greg Abbott) is more than happy to have him back in the fold.
JP
Yeah, I bet he is, in terms of another youngster in there, I know that you do a lot of work watching the youth and reserve team and often do the commentary, I think you were doing it this week using our kit as well. Dave Symington, first start for Carlisle United, what a day for him and what a great competition to always be able to say I made my debut in the best competition in the world?
AH
He has earned it hasn't he, he has worked hard, he worked particularly hard in pre-season. Reading the story, I don't know if you read the interview in the programme that we did in the last match programme that he was in tears when he was given his contract, that is how much it meant to Dave. He just wanted to kick on from there and fair play to the lad, he went away in the summer, did the work, he has come back, he has worked with the first team and he has looked as if he has been there for quite a while. So, this is a good chance for him to really get in and amongst it and to show people what he can do.
JP
And also running you hope at a non-league back line, although I think their full-back is only a young lad himself, or reasonably young, so they won't be an absolute slouch, but hopefully in a game like this he can maybe get a 90 minutes under his belt where he really does show what he can do?
AH
Absolutely, I am sure the message for him would be to get your head down, use your pace, get past your man and get the deliveries in, and if he does that he will have a good game.
JP
i know that people from Kent will be listening to us, Ebbsfleet fans listening on the website today, just a bit of news for them, the chairman's husband, the chairman is Jessica McQueen, she is in the hospital along with Maria because Graham McQueen who is the chairman's husband, or chairperson's husband, also the announcer at Ebbsfleet, has had a heartattack while he was up here so he is at the Cumberland Infirmary. What a dreadful bit of news for them and our best wishes and thoughts with them and fingers crossed, I hear that he will be trying to listen this afternoon so hopefully he is recovering, but what an awful thing to happen when you have come this far to watch something like this?
AH
Absolutely yeah, and it was a big day for them, and for him to come up here and for that to happen. Everybody at the club sends our best wishes and we just hope that he is able to listen this afternoon, but we hope we make him feel a little bit worse with the result that goes our way.
JP
Yeah, let's hope, I have just been on actually, I am doing the half-time and full-time reports today for BBC Radio Kent, and I have just been on with them and I have just explained the context to Greg Abbott's midweek comments, and they have actually all said on BBC Kent 'oh, that is not so bad at all really is it'. I suppose it all depends which part of a manager's sentence you pick out, you can always lynch a manager or otherwise can't you with what you choose to pick out?
AH
Well, we had all missed it, at the press conference yesterday we were all sat there when it was brought up thinking we can't even remember any comments being made. So, that is how sometimes when somebody is talking they say something which nobody thinks is controversial, when it is written down and then cherry-picked it becomes massive. That is what has happened with those comments, nobody at this club would ever pay any disrespect to anybody, because it can hurt you if you do. So, massive respect to Ebbsfleet, you have got to say to them that we are watching, we are hoping that we do it properly, if we don't they will beat us.
JP
And Carlisle of course a recent Football Conference team, Chris Lumsdon of course knows all about that and I don't think United are the sort of club Chris for those listening in the Kent area who would ever disrespect non-league football?
CL
No, definitely, enjoyed our time down there didn't we and I remember I think it was Gravesend & Northfleet then came up here for the first game here when they got the ground ready after the floods and it was an absolute mudbath that day, so I remember that game.
JP
There you go, but no disrespect at all from anyone at Carlisle United, we are just looking forward to a great tie and hopefully beating you?
AH
We do, we want to be in the next round for a million reasons, so hopefully we will be.