United manager Graham Kavanagh (GK) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Andy Wood (AW) following Carlisle's 1-0 League One defeat away to Oldham, Kavanagh saying that the Blues didn't play to their usual levels:
AW
A difficult afternoon for you lads in the end there?
GK
Yeah, it was, a difficult afternoon We have to look at ourselves first and foremost, we didn’t play to the levels that we have played in the past and that was disappointing. I am not really sure as to why because we trained really well through the week. So, it is disappointing but you shoot yourselves in the foot when you don’t play to the levels we need to.
We have got a small group and it is vitally important that every player plays to his maximum and it wasn’t there today, certainly not first-half. In the second-half I thought we huffed and puffed but we didn’t get to the levels. But, in saying that the referee [Mark Heywood] gives an awful decision for the penalty and then he is just completely inconsistent with the rest of his game.
I mean, he books Mark Beck after three minutes, the first one is a definite foul but he runs and he slips on a very difficult surface, lovely grass but a bit long, he slips, falls into the player, no problem. Then the second one he jumps for the ball and collides with the player, which was also a free-kick, never a yellow card after three minutes.
So, I am frustrated with that but fair play to them, they did what they needed to do today to win the game and all credit to them. But, the referee plays five minutes over at the end, we make three substitutions, they make two, we have three yellow cards, they have two, so that for me is five minutes right there.
Well, he books their keeper [Mark Oxley] for time-wasting and he plays five minutes at the end of the game, now how does that work, how does that add up? I am not sure but I have tried to speak to the referee, obviously he decides he wants to send me off and fair play to him, but I am just disappointed.
AW
What was his reason for that, what reason did he give for sending you to the stands because it seemed a little bit petty from where we were?
GK
Yeah, I was probably…………… I sarcastically clapped him because he hadn’t given us a decision all day and that was obviously wrong of me. But, in the same token he decided that he wanted to be the bigger and better man and send me off and send me to the stand and make sure that I wasn’t able to do my job, and fair play to him.
To say I am frustrated is an understatement but I have to be very happy with the way the players have been, the players have been absolutely magnificent. It is not frustration on their part, it is just the whole frustration of the whole 90 minutes today that we didn’t play to the levels that we would like. We huffed and puffed at the end but we weren’t able to get that breakthrough.
AW
Switching away from the officials, the last ten minutes it did look like Oldham were there for the taking, you got a sense that eventually you could have got something out of this?
GK
Yeah, well I mean as I say, when I got sent off and I was up in the box you could sense it in the stand that they were under pressure. They were getting deeper and deeper, we were gaining momentum, we were getting forward, we were putting balls in the box. Lee Miller had a chance, the keeper has made a very good save, it doesn’t go in and there were still one or two other opportunities that you think we might have been able to capitalise on.
But, it wasn’t to be our day today. I am not blaming anybody, at the end of the day we have got to look at ourselves and know that we have got to perform better. But, I have said to the players, one defeat in six is a fantastic return and we go again on Tuesday.
AW
Yeah, and as a person and a manager I suppose you will learn more about yourself this week because you have not suffered defeat until today?
GK
That is very true yeah, I mean it is very easy when you are winning and everyone is patting you on the back. Obviously, to taste defeat today hurts right at this moment and I am sure it is hurting all the fans who supported us magnificently today, got right behind the team as they always do and we weren’t able to give them at least a draw, so that is disappointing.
But, I came here a few weeks ago and watched them play against Port Vale and I actually thought they were a very good team, but I didn’t think they played to the level they played today against us and we just didn’t capitalise on it. So, listen, we will come in in the morning, we will watch the video and we will assess where we could have gone better.
I just felt there was too many of our performances were on the outside of the game rather than, as we have been in the last few weeks, winning every second ball, competing in every area of the pitch and using our intelligence. I keep going back to that word but it is vitally important when we are with or without the ball that we do use our intelligence.
AW
The only half doubt that you had about Pascal Chimbonda was his fitness, but he has quite easily coasted through 90 minutes there today?
GK
Yeah, he has still got to adapt to our style of play, at times he thinks like a full-back and we are trying to encourage him to defend the middle of the goal. He has played at such a high level but he hasn’t played for a number of months and that game understanding was very obviously there today.
I did think he tired a little bit towards the end which was very much expected, but I think he will only get better and I hope that combination and that partnership continues to grow and performs and gives that platform that we get clean sheets from. I mean they had a couple of opportunities towards the end of the game when we were chasing it and we were getting bodies right up the pitch.
But, I never really thought they cut us open at any point in the game where I thought we looked like we were struggling here. But, as I say, we didn’t give ourselves a platform to be able to implement our game plan on them. When you don’t pass the ball well enough, you are always going to struggle.
AW
And MK Dons next up, I am guessing you are fairly confident within that group you can turn it around for a decent result on Tuesday?
GK
Oh, most definitely, without a shadow of a doubt. I mean we will come in tomorrow, we will be in Monday. The good thing is that the lads are all very, very disappointed in there, they know that they can play better. I said to them today at half-time, I said that is as bad as we have played since we took over and we are only a goal in it and it was a very dubious goal at that.
I mean I didn’t think it was a penalty, I am not whinging and moaning, I will be the first to come in and say it was a nailed on penalty. I thought it was a free-kick beforehand, I will remain balanced I suppose about the idea that maybe there was a slight chance it was a penalty before I see the video.
But, I didn’t think it was, in real time I just thought he was going to pull it up for a free-kick beforehand, he doesn’t and then fair play to the striker, he [Adam Rooney] does all he can as you would expect good strikers to do to gain the opportunity of getting a penalty, and he did, and he put it away and it was a difficult afternoon.
AW
Ending on a positive then, if six games ago when you took over we would have offered you just one defeat, you would have snapped our hands off wouldn’t you?
GK
Oh, most definitely, I mean you can probably hear in my voice that I am disappointed, but I am disappointed for the group, I am disappointed for the fans. None of us like losing, I mean I don’t even like losing against my kids, I have got to be honest with you, that is just the way it is and I don’t ever want that to leave me.
But, the players have been absolutely top drawer all the way through it and they have given us absolutely everything. They did again today, but we just didn’t have that cutting edge that we have had in previous weeks. But, the positives from today as well, I mean Lee comes back, Pascal plays, Lee gets 20 minutes and was winning all his headers.
We probably could have worked better off him in and around what we were trying to do when we were going a little bit more direct towards the end, because we were getting a bit more joy with that. There are positives but just right at this moment it is a very sickly feeling in my belly.