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PN
Firstly, how is the squad looking ahead of tomorrow's game?
GA
We are not bad, we are going to be without Paul Thirlwell but apart from that we are near enough at full strength. So at this stage of the season with the amount of games we have played we could be worse off.
PN
Given the way the team played on Tuesday night is there a temptation to just leave things as they are and not tinker too much?
GA
We won't be tinkering too much but we picked a team for a certain game. It was always going to be a tough game with the way Leeds United are going. So we have got through that, we have come through unscathed, we have caused them a few problems and we have taken away a deserved point. Tomorrow is a different one and we will have a look at that one as well, but we won't be tinkering too much.
PN
Scott Dobie came off the bench of course and scored for the second game in a row on Tuesday night. How pleased are you as his manager for Scott given some of the criticism that has come his way in recent weeks?
GA
Well I have stuck up for Scott all along and I still will. The type of player he is and the type of person he is, you can only admire his honesty and his endeavour. He has good parts of his game and he has parts of his game that aren't so good, but he is only like a lot of other players. But what he does, whenever he goes out on the pitch he gives a massive shift in terms of endeavour and commitment.
He has added goals to his game and he is actually our top scorer so you have to be pleased for the player. Because criticism sometimes isn't nice and he has had to deal with that, and he has got on with the job and his answer is fantastic in the fact that he has scored two goals in his last two games.
PN
He is making a very convincing argument to get a starting place tomorrow?
GA
That is all I have said to him, I said you have got to give me ammunition for your case Scott, and two goals in two games is good ammunition. So that is something we will look at seriously for tomorrow.
PN
On the flip side would it be fair to say that Richard Offiong has still perhaps to fully prove himself to his new supporters?
GA
Yeah, I mean Richard has come into a new club and it takes time to settle. We like a lot of what we see with Richard, we know there is work to be done. He is going in the right direction, it hasn't quite all gone off in a blaze of glory at the start of it but he is a long-term signing, not a short-term hit. We think there is more to come with Richard and we know there will be goals eventually, but he is taking his time to settle in and that is fine, some players take longer than others.
PN
Is Richard happy so far, has he given any indication why perhaps he hasn't quite hit the straps just yet?
GA
Well he is probably not happy that he is not starting, but that is good. He wants to start and he wants to get going and he wants to score goals. He has a fantastic record in Scotland with 40-odd goals in 110 games (ed - 95 starts, 21 substitute appearances and 43 goals for Hamilton and Motherwell) and he will be keen to get himself off the mark with us. But he has shown no signs of discontent, he is part of the squad now that we think is decent and he has got to be in there fighting his case like everybody else.
PN
One major plus for you has been Richard Keogh's form this season, and certainly since his return he has really impressed hasn't he?
GA
He is tough, he is a determined character, he gives you presence, he gives you a solid defensive base to work from. He loves to attack the ball, he loves to defend, he enjoys his role and with the work he has put in with his own personal fitness and his own thing he has done to make his game better, he is getting his rewards now. I think in the two games he has come back with the length he has had out he has been terrific and hopefully he will continue to improve.
JP
Some fans are even talking about Richard Keogh being a future captain for Carlisle United such is his presence on the field. Do you think he is that sort of material?
GA
Absolutely captain material. He is a leader, he has got passion, he has got determination, he is loud, he has got plenty to say for himself, sometimes not always the right stuff but I don't mind, we can always curb him down. But sometimes you don't get natural talkers, he is a natural talker and he is a natural leader. Will he be a captain in the future? If he continues the way he is going then you never know do you.
PN
I have to ask you, of course you were sent to the stands on Tuesday night controversially, have you been made aware of what kind of punishment, if any, you might be facing at this stage?
GA
I don't think I will be getting any punishment, I don't think I have done a lot wrong to be fair. I have had a word from the referee's board and I have had a word from the referee himself (Russell Booth) to say I have been dismissed for a breach of use of the technical area. I stepped just outside it by about 50 yards (ed - centimetres?) so that gave me the chance to watch the game from the stands, and to be fair got a great view.
Hopefully now they will see the common sense, the referee did make a mistake, he has admitted that and the assessor has admitted that so we see where we go from there. But at no point did I use any abusive language so generally that is what they deem as banning you from the touchline, is foul abusive language towards the officials. I just reminded him that he has probably made a huge mistake and we have suffered yet again.
PN
I know you feel as though you are getting a pretty rough deal from the officials this season?
GA
Yeah, we are waiting for that "it all evens itself out" scenario to come round. It hasn't evened itself out yet and if we had had a couple of good decisions rather than the bad then we might be sitting in the top ten or even the top six of this table, that is how tight our division is at the moment. So that is frustrating but when it evens itself out we will gladly take a mistake on our side.
PN
The club have announced a huge loss for the last year, has that had a significant impact on your transfer budget?
GA
Well we have done a fair bit of wheeling and dealing, we know we have had areas that we have had to work in, I think that is common knowledge to everybody looking at it from the outside. I have been told what I can and can't spend and I have tried to spend it as wisely as I can. I have tried to improve the squad the best I can within those limits.
We haven't got a fortune but there is money there, I think if I wanted to improve again I have been told by the club I can do that. So what they are trying to do is put that loss to one side and encourage improvement within the squad. If I can find another player out there that I think will make us better and get us into that top half, or top ten of the table or whatever, then I can go out and try to find him and I think the club will back me within reason.