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GA
Things are not quite as straightforward as I would have liked, but hopefully by the end of the day I will be nearer to resolving that one way or the other. So I will probably be making an announcement, whether it is through Andy (Hall) or whether it is through something we do later on in the week on the situation there.
Obviously the Manchester City situation is difficult, the Chelsea people that we needed to speak to were in for the draw for the Champions League. And Vincent Pericard's is an ongoing situation where we are pretty hopeful but we are having to be a little bit patient.
PN
Just to clarify the position with Adam Clayton, the arrival of (Roberto) Mancini and the change in manager there has complicated talks a bit?
GA
Yeah, we have got to find out, and obviously as you can see by their press conference yesterday there is a hell of a situation going on there. I think Adam Clayton is probably not the nearest to his mind at the moment.
But he is important to us so we have got to pick the right time to make contact, and it is who we get contact with and what the new manager wants to do. He might want all of his players back to have a look at them and Adam might want to go back so he can be in the manager's thoughts. So it is a situation that is slightly out of our hands at the moment that one.
PN
And again to clarify the position of Clayton and (Tom) Taiwo, are we talking about extended loan deals here or are we looking at permanent moves?
GA
At the moment we are talking extended loans, I think it would be difficult for anything else to happen at the minute. So we will look at that situation and then see what develops after that.
PN
How crucial are those three players to you being able to maintain this improved form in the New Year?
GA
Well they are crucial if we can't get (Paul) Thirlwell and (Marc) Bridge-Wilkinson fully fit. That might be the burden if it doesn't happen and you get those two back. But all you can say is that they have been terrific in the run we have had, so if they give us the same sort of thing after the New Year, the same contribution, then they are vital to what we are doing. But they have been good haven't they up to press so that is why we are seeing them as important parts of the squad.
PN
And as of this stage are you aware of interest from other clubs in any of your three players?
GA
I would think there would be interest but I am not aware of any, and they are not going to come to me for interest, they are going to go to the players' agents and the players' parent clubs. So I will be the last one to find out, we are just thinking that the run we have had and the way they are playing and the rumours that go around, that there might be some there. But the players certainly have not mentioned it and nor has anybody else.
PN
And we have touched on this before, in terms of what you might or might not do in the January transfer window, you talked about having potential targets lined up. Is there any progress with that or is that wholly dependent on what happens with the three players?
GA
We have got to have plans for all situations and in football you are always looking at worst case scenarios. Should you lose him or should he be sold or should that happen, and in that instance the recruitment schedule goes on and on regardless.
If I need to tap into a right-back or a left-back or a centre-forward or a left-winger then we have got our targets there that we have been monitoring and looking at. So should any situation happen then we start making inroads into trying to bring one of them into the club should it be necessary.
PN
There are other players as well outside of the club, former players, Keiren Westwood, Danny Graham potentially, who may, if they move on in January, may present you with a cash bonus. Has that been discussed at all? Would that offer you options that perhaps you don't have at the moment?
GA
All those situations, that is why you would ask me - what am I going to do in the transfer window? My answer would be that I haven't got a clue because those situations are hypothetical ones that if they did happen would alter the bearings on what we do.
So should anything like that happen then we have got targets that might cost us a few quid that we could go down that line as well. But up to now if I have asked I have been given, so whether they are reliant on that, certainly if we wanted to do a really big money signing then it would depend on whether one of those players moved on or not.
But we are talking about ifs and buts and maybes and not really hard and fast facts which is what at the minute, as I stand, we are OK if the three sign. If they don't we have got targets in mind that we would possibly bring in. We have got Paul Thirlwell and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson who might be fit, so we have got to look at all those situations. At the minute we are quite comfortable with the squad, but everybody is always looking to make it better, everybody.
PN
We are talking about who might come in, at this stage any interest or approaches for any of your current squad?
GA
Nothing, not one enquiry for anybody that we have got, but that will heat up. All the agents are always doing their work, but at the minute nothing.
PN
And the weather?
GA
The weather offers no excuses, it is not ideal but we get on with it. I am sure other clubs are in the same boat as us, but we are not going to offer any excuses. We are having a team meeting at 10.15am and the first person I hear of this isn't right or that isn't right, or we not happy with this or we are not happy with that then they will be shot down massively.
Because everybody is in the same boat, basically, you roll your sleeves up, you deal with what you have to deal with, we are in England by the way. It is not a situation that has never happened before and if we don't get a result on Saturday or Monday at Tranmere then I won't be blaming the weather. It is not ideal but I am not going to make any excuses whatsoever.
PN
So all your training at the moment is indoors?
GA
Erm, part and part. We are trying to get an outdoor facility tomorrow, today obviously you know the weather in Carlisle is not great. So we are going to be indoors today but tomorrow we are really hopeful we can get outdoors on something. Even if is not ideal but it is a different surface to what we are used to.
The only problem with the indoor is that some of the players, and it doesn't necessarily mean the more senior players, have problems with knee joints and hips that have had issues. David Raven definitely wouldn't be able to train indoors, hips, and Joe Anyinsah is not ideal with his problem. So we can't spend too much time inside, that is a setback but we can overcome that.
PN
It is a busy time and it can be a big pull on close resources with injuries and suspensions, you are confident that the squad has enough depth there to cover that?
GA
Yeah, we are fine I think, you have seen that with the likes of the players that have come in. Peter (Murphy) has come into the side and done a reasonable job in midfield, it is another thing that gives me food for thought. Scott Dobie came on and I thought he was outstanding in the period he came on last week, gives me food for thought.
We have got other players there, Tom Aldred has come on and had a taste of first-team football, little Bridgey (Bridge-Wilkinson) is forcing his way back there. We have got Tony Kane ready to do a job if needs be so we think we have got adequate cover.
We think we have got strength in depth, listen, every squad I would imagine in our situation in the middle of League One would like to better than they are and would like to have more players and better players. But we are comfortable with what we have got right now.
PN
Huddersfield on Boxing Day, in a way they are a different club to yourselves in that there is a heck of a lot of expectation on Lee Clark there, they are expected to deliver aren't they?
GA
Yeah, because their resources are gigantic in comparison. So they have been able to buy and tempt the very best at our level to go to their football club, even as much as clout as Leeds United and the people like that, and Charlton.
So they need to be right near the top and at the minute they are around it. I think they would possibly be hoping that they might be a little higher than they are, but certainly they have got some very, very good players and spent a lot of money on creating that football team.
PN
Who are the players in particular that deserve special attention do you think?
GA
I don't ever give players away, but they have got five or six real targets, goalscoring threats and attacking minded players that cause you problems. They will be the ones that we are looking to nullify and then get at the weaknesses that we think they have got.
PN
How good does it feel going into Christmas with this improved form? And all of a sudden perhaps opposition managers are thinking more about your team than you perhaps about them.
GA
Well I think that as a club we have worked tremendously hard to get that reputation. I think clubs coming up here now, at the minute they are probably thinking that if they get a point at Carlisle then they would be happy. We have got ourselves into that situation and that is credit to everybody at the football club.
The players, I know the players are going into every game now thinking we can win it. We are not talking about drawing the game against Huddersfield on Boxing Day, we are talking about getting a real positive result. That is a different mental attitude than we had maybe seven or eight weeks ago.
The lads have worked terrifically hard to get that situation, the fans are starting to buy into what we are doing now. There is a belief amongst the supporters that we can kick on from this position and we have to try to make sure we do that.
PN
Yeah, you mentioned the mindset there, there does appear to be a different mindset now, but it brings different kinds of pressure I guess. In the past where it was perhaps fans wanting to avoid defeat, now supporters are turning up and they are expecting you to win, and that is not a bad thing is it?
GA
It is a great thing and if that is the type of pressure we have created then we will gladly have that. I am telling you now, it is certainly better than the pressure we had when we were looking to win a game or draw a game just to move away from the bottom three or four. So if that is what is happening now then we will take that no problem.
PN
Going into the New Year have your ambitions for this season changed given the run you are on at the moment?
GA
My ambitions will always remain the same and that is to be improved and better than we were last season. How far we can improve is down to a large part of Dennis (Booth) and myself and Kav (Graham Kavanagh) and what we can offer the players. What the players need to do then is back that up and produce the goods when they go on the pitch. But I have got a target in my mind that nobody else knows about and we haven't reached it yet.
PN
Is the "p" word, promotion, play-offs, banned around the dressing-room?
GA
Yeah, of course it is, any sort of talk of relegation, promotion, play-offs and that is banned. I think we have got to just accumulate as many points as you can, get to 50 first and foremost, as quickly as you can, the pressure is off in terms of that end of the table. Then look to see how many wins you can gather up after that and see where it takes you.
But generally when you are playing without pressure you play better and the results come a little bit easier and confidence is higher. That is the situation we are trying to achieve and the quicker we get there the quicker people might start thinking, hang on a minute, these boys have got an outside chance, there is always one team that does it I think.
PN
What about Greg Abbott's Christmas wishes for this year?
GA
My wishes are just continued improvement. We have had a tough year, we have certainly had a real tough baptism into management with good and bad and indifferent things happening round the football club. I think up to now we have dealt with them, what I want to do now is kick on and provide excitement and optimism through the town.
With that the rest of my staff and the players, hopefully the second half of the season can be really exciting. What we have done at the present is put ourselves into a position to go for that, and that is a big improvement on last year straight away, so they are big positives for us.