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" It's been a strange week, one that I will probably never forget but it's been interesting, I think we've come out of the end of it quite OK. Certainly the players side of it has been excellent and they are the most important people to me at the moment. Neil has gone, I had a close working relationship with him, but now it's about me trying to get the job and looking after the people that are here. It's an exciting challenge and a fantastic opportunity for me, I'll be giving it everything I have got to try to get the post and then take things forward from there.
" I spoke to him (Neil McDonald) yesterday, I had a five minute chat with him yesterday, he just wished me all the best and he has had time to think about what has happened, he's settled down a bit. We just talked about me doing my best to get the job for myself and to look after the people that he left behind and things like that. That was nice and he wished me all the best for the game on Saturday, and he said to be my own man and to try to get the thing right for him.
" He (Peter Murphy) has probably just about been ruled out for tomorrow now, it's one of those, you don't want to take any chances because we are short in that department. It's an area where we are looking to improve our squad in terms of the defence. He's going to be out tomorrow but I am quite happy with David Raven and Paul Arnison who were excellent in midweek. We hope they can perform the same that they did at Bury.
" It probably doesn't mean a great deal to the people of Carlisle but Coventry is where I was born and bred and it's where I started my football career so to me it means quite a lot. To hopefully still be at the helm and be the manager at the time would be something really exciting for me. My parents are up as well at the moment to watch the game tomorrow, they are really keen that it is Coventry in the Carling Cup so it probably means a lot more to us than it does to the people of Carlisle I think. It's not that great attractive tie but it's a reasonably attractive tie and it's one that I think we can do well in. It would mean a lot to me to beat my old club even now when I've been left about 30 years.
" There are loads of irons in the fire but I'm not going to tell you who they are. We're working continuously round the clock, not just up towards transfer window time but right throughout the pre-season and the season itself to try to bring in better players to improve the squad all the time. When they become available you will be the first people to know. "
" With what we've got now with bringing Joe Garner in he (Rogvi Jacobsen) is an option that would have been a possibility if Joe hadn't come in. I think though with Joe coming in now, Kevin Gall flying wide and down the middle and Danny Carlton and Danny Graham there we're well covered in that area now. It's other areas of the field that we need to strengthen.
" We're going to be linked with loads of players but I don't like to talk about anybody (Neil McGregor from Clyde) because I don't like to give our hand away. As and when players become available we'll go after them, if they are the right price for the club then we will make sure that we are in there bidding or competing to get their signature. At the moment though I wouldn't like to say on who we are after, people are always going to throw names at us because it is an area of the field that we are looking at.
" My favourite system is a system that wins games, tomorrow's system will hopefully be the one that wins the game. It will be a different system as and when, depending on what opposition we play and how they play and what players we have got available. I haven't got a set system in my mind, I like to play good attractive attacking football and then fight like mad to win the ball back, then it goes forward again. I haven't got a preferred system, I've got a winning system which is what I want so that's the one I'll be playing tomorrow. Hopefully a system that is going to go and win us the game.
" We are a little bit short of numbers in defence aren't we, what we want is people competing for places all over the field. Obviously at the back it's an area where we haven't got as many numbers, midfield we're well covered and upfront we're well covered. It's an area where we are looking to bring in another couple of players to make sure the competition is fierce and nobody rests on their laurels.
" Our relationship was terrific but of course Neil (McDonald) had differences of opinion, there would be no point me being alongside him just saying yes to everything he said otherwise I'd be no good as an assistant. We threw ideas into the hat and then ultimately Neil made the final call on what system and what team we picked. Of course we always had discussion and dialogue on systems and players and it was healthy. We married that all up together and at the end of it we came out with what we thought was the best solution. "
" He (Dennis Booth) will be there to help me, he'll be there to lend his knowledge, offer opinions and all those sort of things. Dennis is going to come alongside me and give me the support that I need, and pick up on anything he sees that he thinks will improve us. I'm really looking forward to it and he's a really bright character to have around the place. I'm quite looking forward to working with him.
" I hope tomorrow we get a really big crowd and a really biased crowd that are coming to cheer the players on. It's disappointing if people don't want to come because they are giving up on the thing they probably love. They work all week, and do their little bits and pieces and then at the end of it they release watching football. I would say to people don't bite your nose off to spite your face, get yourself down and support the team.
" Just support the players because the players want support and there is nothing better than to hear all our crowd at home singing and chanting their names. Hopefully that will steer us to a victory so I think it's for the players more than anything, they are the ones that are the main players in all of this equation. I can see why the fans want to know what happened because fans are fanatical aren't they, that's what they are. They travel all up and down the country and they pay their money so they do want to know an idea of what is going on at the club.
" Without knowing everything they do like to know some things. So I do understand their frustrations, their queries and that. It's up to me though to make sure that the team perform, and it's up to me to make sure that we get some results and make sure that the fans can focus on how well their team is doing and not what is happening behind the scenes.
" My mum is up here now visiting me, she is coming to the game tomorrow which I'm pleased about. She said to just be my own man and manage how I like to manage and be myself. She knows I am a bright sort of character, she said to just keep on being happy, keep smiling and keep the place jolly. She knows though that when we work we are going to work all flat out with all guns blazing. She has just said to me to be my own man and do it my own way. If I think there is something right about something then just get ahead and do it. She is a really positive person, I'm really proud of her and I'd like to think I can take that advice on board and be successful. "