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GA
We have been a little bit inactive in terms of the games and the run we were on and the momentum we were getting going, we would have been happy to keep that going. But hopefully the work we have been able to do is going to suffice and we can crack on and keep the thing going at Brentford on Saturday.
JP
And with every bit of good news though comes a bit of bad news, and of course news that the fans I suspect had perhaps been expecting is that Vincent Pericard will be leaving. How much of a blow has that been?
GA
Well it has not been great you know but we have to deal with it, we knew the situation when we got him in that it was a three month deal and if he did well he would attract interest. He has done and we have been unable to do much about the situation. So we move on, we will find another one eventually, it won't be easy because he has been a good player and centre-forwards are difficult people to replace, but we look and try to hunt one down.
JP
Statistically some fans have pointed to the fact that his impact hasn't perhaps been that great, but it is more than just statistics isn't it with a player like him?
GA
Listen, he has done a good job for us right, he has enabled us to play in a certain way, we have been successful enough with him in the team. He has got a few goals, and with a lot of other contributory factors, it is not just a one-man team, we have done very well. What he has done is he has brought some results to the table and enabled other people to play better because confidence has been lifted and the whole of the outlook looks a lot better at the moment.
JP
A few of your players have talked about though as him being a focal point for the team, something for the team to aim at upfront. Is that the sort of thing that you need to get in by way of a replacement for Vince then?
GA
Well we are just going to look at the whole situation. We have got three players already at the club and we will have a look at everything and then we will weigh up what we think we need to do about it as and when we think that time is right. But we are happy enough with the three we have got, if we think we need to get another one in….
What we have got to remember is that everybody is playing better and I think it is an easier team to come into it at the minute. If we think we need to improve we will look at the right type and if we can manage to make it happen then we will do so.
JP
What about Gary Madine? Talks remain ongoing we are told with Coventry, is there a chance that he could come back in there with his size to fill that role?
GA
Yeah, obviously Gary has been out and away for while and we need to get him back, look at him, see what he is like, see what his attitude is and see how he has weathered since he has been away at Coventry.
JP
What is the sort of latest on that though? Do you know if they are making a bid for him? Do you know if they are looking to take him longer term? Have you had any sort of indication from them on that?
GA
Not really, they have been very quiet and probably pushing it right to the wire to see what our thoughts are. But the ball is in their court at the minute and we are waiting to hear from them.
JP
A few players who have been talked about in League One terms perhaps, well we will start with Joe Garner, he has been linked quite strongly with Brighton. Is there any possibility that Carlisle could go for Joe Garner if he was available on loan? Because he was obviously a super servant for the club in his time.
GA
To be fair I am not going to discuss any names that aren't hard and fast facts. When we have signed a player I am going to tell everybody who that player is. So we are looking all the time to improve the squad and that remains the situation.
JP
I understand that though, but would Joe Garner interest you as a player given his track record with the club?
GA
Joe Garner is a very good player.
JP
How about Tam McManus, a Scottish newspaper has linked Carlisle with him in recent days, is there anything you can tell us on that one?
GA
Well, like I said, we are only going to talk about players who have come into the football club and who have signed at the football club. The people that start the rumours and the speculation can do what they want this month. But what I am going to talk about to our fans and our people is only players that have come into the football club that we have signed. They will be the ones we will be discussing, I am not going to give anything away to anybody else.
JP
What about Richard Offiong, how far is he off perhaps being ready to come in and have more of a crack in that first team then?
GA
Richard is doing smashing, the problem we have got with Richard at the moment is grass - we haven't had any. He is, along with Joe Anyinsah and little Bridgey (Marc Bridge-Wilkinson) and Paul Thirlwell, we needed some grass. So their rehabilitation work or their fitness work has been held back by the fact that we have been inside on smaller areas.
But all four of them are looking in great condition and we are desperate to get the games on and get some grass pitches so we can work with them and see how near to full fitness they are, very encouraged by them.
JP
In terms of moving them along and getting ready for this game that we are all crossing everything is going to be on at the weekend, how has that little trip to Leeds worked out for everyone?
GA
It has been brilliant, we have a major problem in the location of where the players live and obviously Carlisle being as north as it is. The A66 has been such a treacherous road when it is open, and the very fact it has been shut one day and open the next as well makes it really difficult for us to plan anything.
So what we decided to do was try to stop everybody travelling as little as they could and get them to the nearest venue. So Dennis (Booth) has taken six or seven of the boys in Carlisle and I have taken 12 or 13 of the boys in Leeds.
We have been apart Monday and Tuesday but we are back together on Thursday hopefully to train on the main pitch and we will do that again on Friday. Then at least everybody has trained without any danger of travelling across the treacherous roads.
JP
The big hope is that you don't have to take these extreme measures very often, but how have you found it? How successful has it been taking these measures to try to ensure you get some sort of decent training?
GA
Well I have obviously been in contact with Dennis every day and he has said the lads in Carlisle were fantastic. The boys we have had in Leeds, they are just itching for a game, you can tell, we have trained two and a quarter hours on Monday and they still wanted to carry on because they just want some football.
That in itself just tells you what type of players we have got and the type of people we want at the club. They have been excellent and Saturday can't come quick enough for our group.
JP
A fan the other week got in touch with BBC Radio Cumbria to say that I didn't talk enough about tactics, so let's talk tactics. If you do say for this weekend fail to have a new Vincent Pericard in if that is what you are looking for, do you consider moving away from the tactics that you have been playing? Do you think you have got somebody who could lead that line the way Vincent did?
GA
Yes I do, there is no problem with that, we have got players at the club that could do that role and we have got players at the club that could do the two upfront, we have got players that could do three upfront. So we have got a really good variety of players at the club at the minute and we are comfortable that any system that we decide to play that we have got the right players in the squad at the minute to do that.
JP
Do you favour one particular system away from home or is it all on the merit of the team that you are coming up against?
GA
Do you know what. I favour the system that wins as many games as possible whether it be at home or away.
JP
Which one is that?
GA
It depends on where we are and who we are playing against to be honest with you, and that has always been my philosophy as long as I have been here.
JP
What about Brentford though of course? They came and smashed and grabbed really at Brunton Park in the early part of the season, it would be lovely to return the favour of course.
GA
Of course it would, they have had a decent enough season haven't they. They had a bit of a wobble a while ago but just of late while everybody else has been inactive they have had a couple of results and they have got themselves around the middle of the table. We just want some more positive results to keep the excitement going for the second half of the season.
JP
They were a surprise package though in a way in the early part of the season, I don't think anyone expected them to perhaps get underway as well as they did in League One, what do you expect from them this time around?
GA
I think that they are really tough, they are hardworking, they get the ball to the front players as quickly as they can. Obviously they use Carl Cort as a big target in the air but I think we have got to go down there and match them for their effort and their determination.
Then add that quality to the game that we have undoubtedly gained over the past few weeks and look to get a really positive victory and get the excitement going again for what we think could be a really good second half to the season.
JP
And from what you have seen in the training with the players that you have seen so far, how comfortable are you that this long break hasn't taken too much of a toll on them in terms of first touch etc. ahead of matches?
GA
Well you only have to look at Everton to see that won't be a problem, we missed a game before Everton didn't we. We didn't have a great deal of preparation work for that, we had a really average session at Tranmere because the ground was rock hard, although it was grass.
They came up trumps against Everton, we have got to hope and look at the work they have done since then and hopefully it is the same. The good thing is that a lot of the other clubs are in the same boat so we are hopeful that we can go into the game and hit full steam ahead straight away.
JP
And I know that you don't want to comment on players that aren't in or might or not be coming in but Scott Vernon is a player in the past who turned down Carlisle United. Do you ever consider going back for players who have turned the club down? Would you see that as a strike against them? What would be your approach on that sort of thing?
GA
I am just not going to talk about players that aren't signed at the football club. I am not going to list anybody or any names until we have got them signed.