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" We are trying to play good football as often as we can because the way I like to play is attacking football. There are just going to be different ways of playing against different sides in different circumstances. Saturday was a game that we knew we had a real chance of winning, as is the game coming up on Saturday, so we want to be positive in those games. There will be games where we ill be more positive than others, or a bit more cautious sometimes in others.
" At the minute I think that if you try to take Leeds United on on their own ground and play expansive open football like we did on Saturday then we might get hurt. Different systems for different opposition, but we've got to try to make this a bit of a fortress and get the crowd excited about the way we are trying to play football.
" The way we played on Saturday was probably entertaining in the fact that there was a lot of attacking play but there was a lot of defensive work on the counter from Bristol Rovers. Then some mistakes as we are trying that hard and getting that many men forward. It was probably one for the neutral that looked a decent game, it gives a manager headaches but to the neutral it was probably an exciting game.
" Through our own doing we could have lost it, not through any good play from Bristol Rovers but through our own doing. I think that was the debate in the dressing room afterwards that while we are going to try to play expansive football we have to have our defensive players switched on. Make sure that they are concentrating fully and not giving the ball away in silly areas, we want the ball high up the field into the last third so that we can play all the clever stuff.
" Get as many bodies in there as we can but that puts a bit of an emphasis on the defenders not to lapse in concentration. Through no good play from Bristol Rovers in the end, it was a couple of sloppy passes and then the mix-up with Murph (Peter Murphy) and Keiren (Westwood) that nearly cost us dear and all our hard work would have gone out of the window. All our good football people forget very quickly if you get beat. "
" We watched the DVD again, it's something that I might do a little bit more often, not for any other reason than to see what sort of positions we get into and what sort of balls are going in. The balls actually in on Saturday weren't bad, we've got to then be brave enough to have bodies that get in front of defenders. Like their centre-half did for the goal, the marking is actually excellent but he has actually been brave as a lion and knocked two of our players out of the way. I think that it was Joe Garner and Zigor Aranalde.
" That's the sort of determination we need to be looking for from our strikers when the balls are in the box. There were plenty of balls of quality though I can assure you went into the box on Saturday. The key now is that we've worked on getting the ball in from the wide areas, now we've got to work on the movement of people actually prepared to hurt themselves. Like the best strikers in the world have always done over the years to make sure that we got on the end of that sort of thing.
" I thought that we had the width, again I thought that Jeff (Smith) gave us the width in the first-half but he's playing a little bit below par at the moment and his ball in was poor. Simon (Hackney) has gone in and given us that width as well, his delivery on the day was excellent and he has given us an added problem for selection over the weekend.
" He has actually pushed his corner like I wanted him to do, he got the ball in for Danny (Graham) for the goal. He had a couple of other crosses which Joe Anyinsah got on the end of, which is fantastic to see another wide player getting on the end of a wide player's cross. So that's the key, we were getting width in the first-half but we probably just weren't getting that final ball in at times of the quality that we expect.
" The lad (Anyinsah) has been frustrated, that's the reason for getting younger players that haven't had too much first-team football. They are hungry and he was hungry to get on the pitch, he wanted to play and I think that what he is saying is he loved every minute of it because he was on a first-team pitch wanting to improve. Wanting to prove to himself and to everybody else that he can be a player. I was encouraged by the bits and pieces that he did, the fact that he got a couple of crosses in, the fact that he got on the end of a couple of crosses from Simon Hackney was encouraging. "
" I think that he has given us a little bit to think about again and if he can add competition and a different dimension on that right-hand side then that can only be good for the side. Confidence is a massive factor in any football club, and when players are playing with confidence, I think that Jeff Smith is an excellent player.
" I think that all the Carlisle fans would agree that he was terrific last season but at the minute he has just had a little dip in form and he needs more help than probably anybody does. Our job is to keep him believing in himself, it might be time for Jeff to have a little rest to get his confidence back but he needs help with that. The players that are on song, they don't need so much help, Joe (Anyinsah) is one of those players that wants to go in and have everybody believe in him.
" Different players react to different situations, Simon Hackney is one that needs an arm round him all the time and needs constant encouragement. I think that Joe is similar to that as well, so we have to do that. We have to manage the players properly and make sure that they get encouragement and confidence and belief from all quarters so that they can perform for the side when they actually go on the pitch.
" He (Jamie Mullan) has gone, we decided when we got Joe in, we've got Ged Dalton back on the training ground so there are three players now fighting for a right-hand side position. It would be unfair to bring Jamie in unless we are going to thrust him straight into the squad, with the other three there which are already in the club we decided to let him go and ply his trade elsewhere.
" I think to the message to the fans is that the ones who come in, absolutely a big thank you. Their support is brilliant for the team, we need them as much as they need us, we need a positive slant from them, we need them to get behind the players and we need them to tell their pals to come down and help us as well. Because at times things will be difficult at home, and things will be difficult away, as long as we know that we've got that support behind us and they are right in our corner. "
" Players get massive confidence and massive motivation from that, to the ones that come through the gate - keep coming and hopefully we can play the football and get the results to encourage a few more. When you look at it ultimately we are still sixth, we are still playing at the right end of the table, we are still fighting like mad to get the formula just right. We are working very hard day in and day out in training, we are trying to make the games exciting, we are trying to make the games special.
" We are trying to win games and score goals at home but it doesn't always go our way. As you have seen, teams come to make it hard, again Bristol Rovers defended in numbers, very good on the counter - similar to how we did things at Swansea. You might find teams doing that but I think that the key for the fans is to be patient, instil as much confidence as you can. Give as much encouragement as you can to the players and hopefully we can repay them with some positive attacking performances and some more goals.
" I think things are close on my job, I think that things are coming to a time now where everyone has seen what can I do. Seen the results that we have got which have been excellent, there is the fact that we are right at the top end. We've lost two in eight in the league, or two in eight since I took over (ed - three in eight in all competitions), so we are happy with that. The whole package has been there for everyone to see and I think that now is the time, or close to the time, where I think the club will be thinking about yes or no in terms of my situation.
" The players are adamant that they want the pitch watering, I spoke to other people about that and I might have to make the decision on my own to say that - no, the pitch is not going to get watered. It will get watered as much as it can in the morning. What's happened is the pitch is that good, and it soaks up everything that quickly, that because of the lack of rain that we have actually had the pitch is firm, then when they water it the top just becomes very, very skiddy.
" Yes the ball moves quicker which is what we want because we want to play quick football but the top is actually becoming skiddy. A few of our players are sliding but it's the same for the opposition, ultimately though if one of them slips over and we concede a goal then it's a problem. It might be one that I have to say - no, we will water it all morning but once the water has gone and the pitch has dried out then you have to play off that. "
" Then hopefully, that will alleviate the slipping, but it's a players requirement, and that's both sides and not just ours, but obviously we're not bothered about the opposition. We are only bothered about our players, they have insisted that they want it watering and at the end of the day that is their work-place out on the pitch.
" You have to listen to them to an extent but ultimately I might have to make a decision where I say - no, there are too many players losing their balance or falling and we'll leave it. There are other players on the other team falling over as well but it seems to be sometimes that we are doing it a little bit more than most. It has become a concern where it wasn't so much before but we can't have players slipping over all the time, I take that point and no problem.
" I think that Bournemouth is one of those games where we have to make sure that they get no encouragement in the game whatsoever. I think they will be a little bit low on confidence, we've got to go there and take the game to Bournemouth, attack properly, defend properly and maybe put them on the back-foot right from the off. It's certainly a game where I would think they will be looking forward to it but we are certainly looking forward to very, very much.
" It's a game where we are hopeful of a positive result as we always are, but with realistically a genuine chance of going down there and getting some more points. That will be the way that we are looking at the game, to take the game to Bournemouth and attack them very, very early to rock them on the back-foot and make sure their run of poor form continues.
" Everybody trained yesterday bar Joe (Anyinsah) who is actually going to be in today, he had a stomach upset, probably the excitement of playing his game. He's OK, he's come in today so we should hopefully through training have a clean bill of health bar Paul (Thirlwell) who we are going to see how he is later in the week anyway.
" We had three players come on on Saturday and staked a claim so it's important that right throughout the week, in the training and in the reserve games, that players push hard. That's what the message is, we are all together, it's a relatively small squad in terms of experience and depth but they are all pushing, they all want a place which is good. The whole lot of them are together and we'll select what we consider the best eleven come Saturday. "