United chief executive David Allen spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria on Tuesday evening about John Ward leaving his post as Carlisle boss yesterday, Allen also giving his thoughts on caretaker manager Greg Abbott:
" It's back to business as usual, it was a very, very difficult decision and we had a long run up to it. We gave John Ward every opportunity that we could and we were going match by match just wanting everything to turn round, but it just wasn't going to happen. I think I will agree with the fans, we certainly didn't want to be leaving it and helping John Ward and helping John Ward out in relegation, I don't think that anybody wanted to see that. Neil McDonald went after one game so I don't think that anybody can say that we acted too hastily with John Ward, ten games is a long time.
" I will take responsibility for not acting sooner if we were to get relegated. We are the ones who employ John Ward and if John Ward has done something as damning as that then I will be the one who takes responsibility. I have just come off the phone from Greg (Abbott) now, he is out having a look at another player so he is out at another game down country. I have just spoken to him now and he is chomping at the bit, he is telling me that the end of January is too long, he is wanting the job now. So we'll just see how it goes I think, we will give him a fair crack though, we need to give him a fair crack at it.
" We have always said that we would be looking for one or two transfers in and out in January, particularly in view of looking at the team now. We have got to make sure that that is the case, Greg knows what he is looking for and he is out now looking at a player. So I think that Greg is happy with what is lined up, we are never going to be a club that is going to have tens of millions to throw about. We are going to do the best with what we have got, and we need to be bringing in some better players and moving one or two on.
" I would like to think that we want to give Greg every opportunity, I will be honest though, I thought that John Ward was the right man three months ago. So it won't all be down to just my decision there I can tell you. I don't think that the majority of the fans will see Greg as part of the problem with John at all. I think that the majority of fans will see John Ward and Greg Abbott as two totally different people. "
" They have absolutely different styles, different charisma, they are totally different people and I think that we definitely will see a different playing style under Greg. Greg was very gentlemanly and he has done the right thing under John Ward, he respected John Ward's decisions and mellowed his own style to respect John. So you have got to respect Greg for doing that, but they are totally different people, so I don't think that there will be many people who think that they are two peas in a pod at all.
" I think that it is only fair to give him an opportunity, he was caretaker manager once before after Neil McDonald and before John Ward came. I think that most people agree that he did a very good job then. We were actually always looking for something better at the time, so we thought that we were going to get the best of both worlds by having Greg and what we perceived might be a better manager as well. While Greg was caretaker though he certainly did a very good job, and we would be heavily criticised if we didn't give him an opportunity.
" I think that we will have to be doing something if this slide continues, but Greg is talking about making changes. He has got a totally different style from John Ward and we certainly have had a lot of discussions with him yesterday and today. I have just come off the phone from him now for a long time, he is actually at another game now and we have been discussing what he is doing down there, I think that Greg will make some changes.
" I think that it would be unfair to disclose actual figures on John Ward's compensation, it is common knowledge that he had a very, very good contract. He was a well respected manager, experienced and mature, he had a good job at Cheltenham and we teased him from there. It is unfair to disclose figures but I think that everybody knows that it is a good amount. "
" It would be unfair if I said what it was, it is a fair sum and all I would say is that I would rather have spent that money on the team. I would rather have given it to Greg to go and get players with, it is not the sort of money that we wanted to spend, and if we could have avoided spending it then we would have. It is the right decision though and we are just moving on.
" Everybody is disappointed with the performances of the players over the last ten games. Nobody more so than the board, John Ward and right down the players and everybody, so we are all disappointed by it. Nobody can put their finger on why it didn't happen, the players themselves have said that they respected John Ward and they wanted to play. So we just haven't put our finger on exactly why, but we are hoping that a change will work.
" I think that there will always be a little bit of criticism won't there. I think that the majority of people closest to the club who know ourselves, we are just good lads on the board who are local, we are all local now, we all live locally, our families are local. We have got a passion and we just want to do our best, we do. There is nobody putting spanners in the works, if anybody thinks that the board have deliberately told John Ward to lose the last ten games, it just isn't realistic is it.
" To be honest we have done everything that we can to avoid wasting money. I don't want to say exactly how much we have paid John, or just exactly the structure of the settlement. We just all want to move and give Greg every opportunity. I know that the youth game is going well down there and Blakey (Jonny Blake) and (Liam) Davison have scored in the first few minutes, that is more important to me. "