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" I had a long time at Leeds, I worked my way through the coaching system and they were good to me down there. I developed myself as a coach, started with young players at the age of 14 and worked my way up to the youth team and then the reserve team at the end of it. So I had a nice time there and the people were very good to me.
" If you look further back it's Champions League against Vauxhall Conference, everybody remembers Leeds in the Champions League. So it's a fantastic indication of where this club has come from and where it is going, so we've got to keep that rolling and not worry too much about Leeds's demise. I'm sure they will get back in time because they are a massive football club but it's a great little story to bring it altogether on Saturday that Carlisle are actually playing Leeds United on a level footing, it's a fantastic thing.
" I still live in Wetherby just on the outskirts of Leeds, I think I've got friends all over the place, I'd like to think so anyway. I've got a lot of connections with Leeds though, I know a lot of the players, I know a lot of the people who support them. My son is a season ticket holder, he goes home and away but he's supporting Carlisle and he's done the report on Leeds as well, so they need not find out about that.
" So there are loads of connections but if you know anything about the way I am then that all goes to bed and I couldn't give a damn about Leeds United on Saturday. It's all about Carlisle and us getting three points and keeping our good start to the season going. "
Meanwhile Blues midfielder Chris Lumsdon commented :
" It seems longer than three years ago that we were in the Conference but there were some pretty testing times back then. It's great to be playing Leeds and Nottingham Forest coming up because it just shows how far we have come. They (Leeds) are a massive club in our division, they've got some great players who should really be playing higher up and they probably will be the way they are going. So it's going to be a good test for us. "