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" It has been a long drawn out affair really, so we are pleased that it is done now and Richard can get his head round making a big contribution to Carlisle United. It was probably a bit of red tape and a bit of complicated interference from other people but it is done and dusted. At the end of it it is all done properly and you just have to wait until all the necessaries are complete. There seems to be a lot of forms these days, forms for this and forms for that but we are there now so let's hope that he gets off to a good start.
" I think that already his signing has kick-started the other three into gear. Joe Anyinsah's performance at Bristol City was terrific, and obviously there were goals from Gary Madine and Scott Dobie. So just the very fact that he was there with us on the bus has sparked off a bit of a fight for selection now, so that is good for the whole club.
" He (Offiong) has looked good in training, he is really keen, he is at a new club and he has got a lot to prove to himself and obviously all of us, the people at Carlisle. He will be chomping at the bit to make a big impact. He has got pace, he is a strong lad who has got pace and he tends to get his shots off very, very quickly.
" He wants to score goals, he has got a single minded approach to scoring goals so that will be the difference between what we have probably already got and what he brings to the table. He is not as tidy at times as the others but he wants to run in behind and he wants to get on the back of defenders and he wants to get shots on goal, which is what we have been missing at times.
" I think to be honest now we think that we have got selection problems all over the pitch, and at times last season we never had that. We think that we are building a nice squad, when Richard Keogh gets fit we have got competition right the way across the back four, right the way across midfield and certainly now with the four upfront we have got problems there. So it is a good problem to have, we are going to have some unhappy players but some of them have got to really step up to the plate and keep their levels of standard when they are playing going right the way through. "
" We have had a busy week this week but in the early part of next week I am going to speak to Chelsea about Tom Taiwo and see what their thoughts are. They want a rundown of how he has been anyway so we have got to have an open conversation for me to have a briefing of how he has been doing. I will have a look at them and ask them what their long term plans are, and if we get some encouragement then certainly we would be interested in following that through.
" There probably won't be any more movement now, we think that we are OK now with what we have got. Unless a surprise thing came in for one of our players, then I think that if that happened then we have got names on the table for all varied positions. If somebody came in for one of our players then we would look to replace him straight away, but I think that it is a one out and in one type scenario between now and next Tuesday.
" He (Andy Cook) needs competitive games, our reserve game against Blackpool was really disappointing, the standard of the team Blackpool sent was too poor really. We have only got one more game in the next couple of weeks for reserves games, so Andy can play four or five games at a really good level with Darren (Edmondson). He has always looked after our players and we have a good relationship with him so he can go, and he is only going to go for a month.
" Because I want him around training with me and working around our first-team to get his development quicker. It will certainly give him the chance though to play at a much more competitive level and if he scores his goals at Workington then he certainly gets closer to our squad and he certainly asks me a few more questions.
" Josh Gowling did get a chance with us, he had five games on a run last season and we lost all five and conceded 15 goals. So whilst that is not entirely down to Josh's fault, I left him out of the team, his reaction was poor and he never really gave himself a chance after that. "