United chief executive David Allen spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria on Tuesday evening about the postponement yesterday of tonight's scheduled League One match at home to Hereford, Allen also later talking about the drop in attendances at Brunton Park this season :
" There were probably a lot of people thinking now that the match was called off prematurely when they see the weather. If they had looked at the forecast yesterday though and seen the weather and Hereford having to travel up yesterday, we didn't want to be taking any chances.
" We tried to take everything into account plus if we had waited until today and then the weather was very bad and it did go ahead, the fans don't turn up do they when they are not sure. I still don't know when the rearranged date will be, we were hoping that it was going to be on the 24th of March, and as far as we were concerned that was all sorted this afternoon. Unfortunately that is going to have to change again now though.
" I think that a lot of people see us doing our best and it is not that nothing is happening, there are a few things happening. Young Michael Burns has been signed, Graham Kavanagh has signed permanently on an 18-month deal, Michael Liddle's loan deal has been extended and Lewis Neal and Joe Anyinsah have come in. So there are things going on and right up to the last minute we were hoping that there were other things that were going to happen but unfortunately they didn't. So it wasn't like there was nothing going on.
" I think that people will see from us bringing in Lewis Neal on Friday that we did keep it quiet and that is the way to do a deal, let everybody know when it is all signed up. There were other things happening right up until the last minute, we were hoping to get another couple of players and unfortunately that didn't happen, which is sometimes the way that it goes. We are all very, very disappointed about that. "
" The deal that we have got with Greg (Abbott) is that any money from the sale of players is made available to him for players. Greg knows that, hence we have got a record wage bill, we have now got the biggest wage bill that we have ever had at the club. Obviously we are very, very disappointed with Saturday's performance and there will be lots of people very frustrated about that. Nobody is saying that it is acceptable at all.
" However I was down at Brunton Park on Boxing Day when we beat Huddersfield in a very exciting game, I was at Leeds when we won there 2-0 and I was back at Brunton Park when we beat MK Dons in a very, very exciting second-half. So it is not all doom and gloom, we have had some very, very dire performances and we know that we have got a bit to do but there has also been the excitement there. A good win tonight would have just put it behind us but it wasn't to be.
" In any of our negotiations we would want to pay for players in instalments as well, hopefully we would make some of it conditional on that players' performance as well, which goes in our favour. Greg does know that he wants to bring in some better players and we are going to have pay some money to get them. Whether it is money upfront in transfer fees or money in wages, there is money to be paid.
" The gates are disappointing at Brunton Park but what you have got to remember is that our gates haven't fallen as much as other football clubs. We are very grateful for the fans and the support that we do get, there is a credit crunch on, we are in a recession. There are a lot of people very, very worried about their jobs and they are still coming down Warwick Road and supporting us the best that they can. "
" They might not be coming to every game like they did last season and the season before, but there are a lot of those fans who are coming when they can and we are very, very grateful for that. The money is down on the gates but we have got to try to make it up with the commercial and the other sides. If you think about a couple of thousand pounds for the hotel bills on an overnight trip then it soon mounts up doesn't it. We are disadvantaged because of our location, we have a lot more overnights than most other teams but we just have to live with that.
" I am sure that we would get better gates if it was more exciting football and that is what we have got to try to balance. What we can't do is get the club into a difficult position where the model doesn't work. The club is on a good stable footing at the moment, we have a good business model that we like, we want to spend as much money as we can on players and the best football that we can, and we are just going to do our best.
" There were no more bids for Danny Graham, and we made it clear to Huddersfield that the offer that they did come up with. It was about £250,000 I think in the press, that that was well short of what we valued him at, and Greg made it very clear that he wanted to keep him. So as far as I am concerned that is all that happened. I don't think in Danny's case that it will be as simple as him leaving in the summer. Greg will be talking to him now and we will see what we can do.
" Because of his age he can't just simply walk, but we see Danny Graham as a big part of the club and Greg will be talking to him shortly. He has done well since that offer for him came in and we would put the price a lot higher than that, but while he is scoring goals for Carlisle United we want him at Carlisle United, and it is as simple as that. All I know about David Raven is that Greg is talking to him and that the negotiations are underway.
" We are going to do our best with the club, we couldn't foresee the eleven matches that we only got one point out of. If you think though that since Greg has come on board, in the next ten games he got eighteen points so that is top of the table stuff isn't it. So we know that we have got a lot to do and we are just going to do what we can. "