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" It rains every day from the beginning of October to the end of March, I've only been up here 15 months but I've never seen as much rain in my life. They have come a long way in this competition, most clubs have only played two games, we're up to four now, plus the Alliance Cup, we've had six knock-out games this season. Obviously when you keep winning knock-out games it's in your head that you can't lose. As long as we keep their feet on the floor and keep the confidence high it does ooze out of them. Yesterday morning in training I thought they were excellent.
" I'm a big believer in possession drills in tight areas. I think that if you make it in football you've got to be able to receive and you've got to able to pass, and you've got to be able to know how to deal with the ball. It's no good dealing with the ball without any pressure on you because that doesn't happen in a game.
" I try to recreate all the training exercises that relate to the actual game itself when you are playing in a match. Everything is done in tight areas, they've got to work the ball, they've got to able to receive it, they've got to know where it is going next. That is just something that I believe in, I was taught that many years by people at Blackburn.
" The present crop of staff at Blackburn have a bit more influence over me, Mark Hughes and Mark Bowen and Eddie Niedzwiecki. They have all come from top clubs like Chelsea and Arsenal and Manchester United. The way that they worked with the first-team when they first came was really interesting to watch. They play all their training sessions and they have got to be at a high tempo, all the players have got to be able to deal with the ball. "
" I saw the difference in Blackburn Rovers with the first-team from when Graeme (Souness) left to when these guys came. I just thought that it was the right way to go and I think that if you are going to progress in the game you've got to be able to deal with the ball under pressure, and most of our training drills here are like that.
" We've got to remember that what my job is, it's basically player development. The FA Youth Cup comes along once a year and every club in the country wants to do well in it so they play their strongest side. They don't make substitutions, they don't try younger players out in a higher grade but that's what it's all about. When we go back to the league programme on Saturday people will play in different positions.
" The younger boys, the under-16s who are doing well, I'll test them out in under-18s football ready for next season. You've got to push people, I want people to go on and play for Carlisle's first-team. They can't stay playing youth football all their career and they've got to move on and play reserve team football. The faster that I can get them in and the faster that I can get rid of them is a plus but the Youth Cup comes along and everybody goes to what they consider to be their best eleven to try to progress because it is a national competition.
" It's serious business now for a club like us, for us to get to this round, for us to beat Sheffield Wednesday and Manchester United and get ourselves to the fifth round has been a massive achievement. Whatever comes now is a massive plus for us, we've got a home tie against a Centre of Excellence side, they will be coming up here thinking that they can win as well. It's a great draw for them, yes, we can go to the last eight and Aston Villa or Ipswich at home. If we do that, and we'll be giving it our best shot, then that will be an absolutely incredible achievement for a club the size of ours. "
Meanwhile Blues centre-half and youth team captain Dan Wordsworth said :
" I think that everyone is expecting us to win since we beat Man United but if anything it is going to be a harder game. We'll have to work hard like we did against Man United and just hope that we get the rewards at the end of the match.
" It was a bit nerve-racking against Man United, we saw the team-sheets and you see all the foreigners playing for them. It's a bit nervy but when you get down on the pitch you forget all that and you just concentrate on the match.
" It would be brilliant to go all the way, it's going to be hard work though. Everyone got team-sheets from the Man United game and I think that everyone is keeping them, and there a few pictures on the website of everyone. "
While top scorer Gary Madine commented :
" I'm just happy where I am, I'm happy where I am at and hopefully I can keep progressing at this club and see how it goes. He (Eric Kinder) has filled us full of confidence and it showed against Man United when we dug in. "