United manager Graham Kavanagh (GK) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Andy Wood (AW) following Carlisle's 1-0 League One win away to MK Dons, Kavanagh saying it had been a difficult couple of days for the players after the Oldham defeat on Saturday:
AW
A great way to forget about Saturday that?
GK
Yeah it is, most definitely. It has been a difficult couple of days for the players, we all spoke about the honeymoon period being over in respect to us losing our unbeaten record. But, it was a vitally important that the players gave us a performance tonight and everything we have worked on today and on Sunday has come to fruition, and I am very, very pleased with the win.
AW
Yeah, and comfortable in the end wasn’t it?
GK
Well, I mean it is easy to say that in the end yeah, I wouldn’t have said it at the time that it was comfortable because I still felt we were under pressure. But, I think if anybody was going to score it looked like we were going to catch them on the counter. I think our system and our shape and our style of our play tonight, listen we know we are going to come up against good teams who have an awful lot of possession of the ball, I just need to get the players believing in the way we play.
They doubt themselves a little bit and that can be a bit frustrating, but to be fair when they play to level of intelligence and intensity and work-rate for each other they are a very, very difficult side to break down and they are a good side. So, we need to get them to believe in that more and more and I think the sooner we do that the sooner we can start looking at the top end of the table rather than the bottom.
AW
Was it difficult for you to get them up over the last couple of days, as you say, after Saturday some of them did start doubting themselves slightly, so it was probably a different task for you to take on because you have not witnessed that as a manager yet?
GK
No, but listen, there is no shame in losing a game, but I was disappointed in the way we lost on Saturday. The manner and the style in which we lost, everything we were in the previous five games we just simply weren’t against Oldham. To actually replicate how we perform, as I said to the players, I don’t mind losing games but it is the manner in which we lose them.
We are not always going to pass the ball with great quality, we are not always going to cut teams open and we are not always going to test teams on the counter, but we can still be resilient from our shape. I think we will get chances in games and we proved tonight that we did that and I think as the game grew we could sense a little bit of frustration from them. But, the game-plan worked and you have got to give the players a great deal of credit.
AW
Right throughout the team it looked like everybody wanted it, but if we were going to pick two, Sean O’Hanlon and Pascal Chimbonda were solid again?
GK
And Paul Thirlwell in front of them was outstanding and I wouldn’t actually single anybody out. I thought the whole team was absolutely outstanding, David Amoo put in a tireless shift upfront, Matty Robson was unbelievable, Lewis Guy who hasn’t played who we knew was going to struggle a little bit in terms of fitness.
But, it was vitally important he used his experience and his intelligence and his awareness to actually give us a platform, and when we don’t have it just drop in behind the ball and make it narrow, make the teams have to go round us. So, although they are actually working us with the ball, we are actually working them without the ball. So, it sounds pretty simple but it is not because you need a lot of intelligence to do it.
But, I thought to a man the players were magnificent and to be fair I had a go at Brad Potts and I had a go at Dave Symington yesterday on the bus, I told them it was about time they manned up, about time they stepped up to the party because I think they are good players, and they were absolutely outstanding today, absolutely outstanding.
AW
And the confidence that they can bring is the fact that not many teams will come here and snuff out MK Dons the way you did tonight?
GK
No, let me tell you, these are a good side, Karl Robinson has a really good team here, he was unlucky tonight, he was frustrated, no doubt about it. They have got a very good group of players, they had players who were missing tonight and we had to capitalise on that and we did. But, they will win more games than they lose here, there are no two ways about it, they are a very good team with a very good manager and it is a great win for us.
AW
What is the situation with Leon McSweeney? He went off and it didn’t look good as he came off, any latest on that?
GK
He has got a tight calf, I am not sure if he has pulled it, he doesn’t know if he has pulled it or if it was a kick. He just felt it really tighten up towards the start of the second-half of the game, but we couldn’t risk him. We sort of sat down yesterday and today and thought how are we going to do our substitutions, and it was just a case of if that did happen we would probably put Danny Livesey in and be able to put Pascal to right-back.
I think Pascal has grown into it in terms of his match tempo and his game understanding of how we play. I thought he just looked like he had been playing for months and months rather than just two games.
AW
And the new boy, the Prince [Buaben] is set to come in as well, and we believe most of the paperwork has been done, just final bits to clear up before that is fully confirmed?
GK
It is yeah, I have to say John Nixon and Andrew Jenkins have been absolutely outstanding by the way. They have done everything they said and a little bit more to get the deals done that they said they were going to help me with.
But, John said did I want to get him down and I said definitely I do because I know what it is like, because if I was a player and I saw a new player coming in in my position, the bar has been raised, the ante has been raised and he is looking to take my jersey. It was a nice reminder to the players in the dressing room tonight that if you haven’t performed on Saturday then you had better perform tonight because there is somebody looking to take your shirt.
AW
And Saturday coming you have got Bristol City, again, not an easy game for you?
GK
No, none of them are easy games, I mean the whole league everybody can beat each other. I have said to the players there, if they don’t understand and buy into what we are actually doing then they are never going to do that. But, it is going to be a tough game on Saturday, there are no two ways about it, but if we give that level of intelligence as I keep saying, and listen, we are trying to simplify the game for the players because we don’t want to complicate it.
We want them to understand the roles they each have in the system, but they are buying into it, we are getting results and I think that is now seven games, I think we have five wins, a draw and a defeat. So, we are doing something right but the job has only started, it is not over and we keep cracking on and keep putting demands on them and hopefully they keep buying into it and getting us results.
AW
One of our texters tonight says this is play-off form, would you start thinking about that as yet or I am putting too much pressure on you now?
GK
Yeah, let’s all start getting carried away why don’t we. I tell you what, see Saturday night, I didn’t sleep a wink, I rang Davie Irons, I watched the DVD twice. That was my Saturday night so there was no X-Factor or Strictly, there was nothing like that, I watched the DVD twice and the furthest thing away from my mind was the play-offs, I am going to be totally honest with you.
Bu, no listen, as I say, if we can get a victory at the weekend we will look after the players next week, but I definitely think we will be in the top half of the table. Then we can maybe start assessing where we are and where we are planning to get to. But, right at this moment I don’t want to start making predictions because I know how difficult it is and how difficult it can be. Confidence is a huge thing and luckily enough at the moment we have it and long may that continue.