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" We're looking all the time and we're getting nearer and nearer with a couple of the targets, as and when they happen is down to the people above us. It's up to the board to sort it out, they have had a list of names, they are very close to one or two I think and then it's just a matter of the player agreeing and the club then finding the money to back the judgement. Hopefully there will be something happening within the next few days.
" He (Neil McDonald) is on holiday at the moment and I think he has spoken to me more than he has spoken to his missus, even though he is away. Yes it's a break but obviously we are working very, very closely together to make sure that we keep the thing going and make sure that we are on top of possible players coming in, and keeping the thing going forward.
" Him and Newcastle is something that has never been mentioned I don't think in any conversation I've had with him since the end of the season. It's been brought up (by the media) but he has played down all sorts of speculation, I haven't got a clue one way or the other what is going on. He's never offered anything so if he doesn't offer I don't ask. I'm more interested in what happens at Carlisle here, and getting things ready and prepared for when we start the season in three weeks time.
" There are some fantastic games, the Leeds United thing is obviously on everybody's lips and Luton are in this division again. Forest have struggled to get up, and there is Oldham as well, as well as Huddersfield to name but a few. We've lost Blackpool which is a bit of a shame but I think it is going to be a terrific division this year. It's going to take some getting out of but the bigger games the better really, at the end of the season we had a couple of big games here. "
" While results didn't go our way it's fantastic to see this place full and have a totally biased home crowd with us. Terrific games to look forward to, a really encouraging season to look forward to. I'm not saying that everyone can't wait to get back because the boys have their worst time of the season in the pre-season. Everyone is anxious but full of optimism and full of promise that we can do well again this year.
" On paper Neil Lennon is a good signing for Nottingham Forest, I like hungry animals though, I like young players that are full of desire and full of determination. Forest have bought big in the past, they've paid for players with a lot of pedigree and a lot of quality, and that have been at the highest level all their career but they are still in this division. They are still struggling to get out of it and it's a culture shock at this level of football.
" He won't find it easy won't Neil Lennon but he is a quality player, he's got a good pedigree about him and he's a decent sort of fella. So I think he (Colin Calderwood) might be trying to buy a coach that coaches his team on the field, and dictates things from on the park and I'm sure that he'll try to do that. Obviously it's up to us to upset all that and make sure that we get round him and use our qualities in terms of fitness and levels of energy to counteract that.
" If Kevin Gall was to get injured it's not just necessarily a straight swap to bring in somebody else. We can change the system, we can change personnel, the squad we are getting is to cover as many areas as we can. At the end of the day though we are only Carlisle United, we're not a big massive club like Manchester United who have got two or three players for every single position. If we have to change the way we play sometimes or the shape of the team sometimes then we'll do that. "
" It's a sort of negative comment really to say what would happen if that happened or the other happened. We would make do, we've got enough players with enough quality to shift around the side and to compensate for that, I'm sure of that. Gally has looked dangerous when he has played on the left and come in on his right foot. Jeff Smith would turn in a circle to play on his left foot so there is no point in putting him on the right-hand side.
" Certainly Simon Hackney coming in off the right-hand side on his left foot wouldn't be a problem so there are certain players who are comfortable in doing it and some that aren't. It doesn't mean to say that we haven't got any players who in the past have played centrally who couldn't play on the right-hand side. There are all sorts of different things, it's probably the least thing I'm worried about at the minute when I'm hoping that every single player comes back fit. I'm not worried about who gets injured and what we should do, the point is though that we would be aware of the situation. We would be able to do something about it but it's something that's not high on my list of worries at the moment.
" A good move for Paul Murray would be a move to a club where he gets a full season playing on the field. I think he is a terrific sort of player in terms of the energy and the drive that he gives you. The problem with him is the troubles he has had with his knee, if he gets a full season then I'm sure he'll be a massive success at Gretna. I just think that Paul now wants an injury-free season where he can go and prove that he is the sort of player that people know he is. You wish him well and you wish he just stays injury-free really.
" I think that we know what is required now, we know what we have got and I think we know what we need. You can't always get what you need because it's not always available at the right price. I just think that we are a year wiser, we have a year with a little more knowledge. I just think that now we we've got to use all that experience and knowledge, the manager and myself, to take us a little bit further forward. "
" This pre-season has been about getting players in that are going to make us better and make us stronger, because everyone will be obviously be optimistic that we can finish higher than we did this season. That means challenging for play-off spaces, and possibly automatic but we are not setting any goals at the moment. We just want a season that is better than the last one if you like.
" There must be 20 or 30 enquiries about players made every day in different shapes or forms. Some we get knocked back on, some we're encouraged with, some are on the back burner for later on in the season or there are some that we might chase now. It's not that easy just to put your finger on a player and think that we'll go and get him, it doesn't happen like that. Obviously we need to find out what the player is all about, his background and the performances he has given, if he has impressed and if he would fit into our style of play, and is he affordable, there are a number of issues.
" We've got to do our homework, we've got to do our running round prior to and then we can say to the manager 'yes, I think he is a definite target'. Then ultimately Neil will make his final decision and then feed the board with it. There are a number of reasons why players don't come in, without going into all of them I can say that it's not that easy. It might be the player's decision not to come or it might be our decision not to pursue a certain player, or it might be that he has problems that we feel that we don't want to bring to the club.
" When we feel something is right then we will do it. What the fans won't want is us to spend money willy-nilly and not bring in any players that aren't actually better than we have got because then they become false economy. We're patient, we try to do our homework and then we try to identify the players that will make us better. Then we hand over to the board and they do their job in backing our judgement to go and get that player. That is where we are going to keep working and I think the players we have brought in have been decent, they have improved us and we are looking to do that all the time. "