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JP
Where do you feel the goals will come from? Because we are still missing a goal machine.
GA
Yeah, we are, but, the system we are going to play, we would like to think there are goals going to come from all areas. We did score four against MK Dons, we have got eight, so, the goals will come. At the minute it is not as if we are not creating chances and when you create chances the goals will come.
So, we can't have everything, we are trying to be a little bit over….., whatever the word is. But, we are looking good defensively, we are playing decent football, we are making chances and I think it is not a major problem at the minute. Other players in the team are scoring goals, so, I am alright with that.
If we are going to have somebody there that is going to stand out and get 25 goals then we don't know yet. Because, you know how quickly that can change. If you look back to Danny Graham, Danny Graham could go ten or eleven games without a goal and then all of a sudden hit a glut.
Now, are we saying that we know for a fact that Gary Madine or Craig Curran or Francois Zoko won't do that? We are in the really early stages of the season and I would like to think that we can find a goalscorer that can hit that 20 mark. But, along with that I think there are other areas of the pitch where I would like to think we can get good contributions as well.
JP
Why are you wearing a suit all of a sudden on the sidelines?
GA
Well I have not done it for away games. Just the first game it was just purely that we had done all the work, we do all the work during the week. Then between Kav (Graham Kavanagh) and myself we had done all the work that we needed to do for the first game, for the Brentford game and it was 2.45pm. I just decided to keep my suit on and we won the game, so it became a bit of a superstition.
So, it was nothing more to look into than home games I have done it that way because we have been winning, the away games I have stuck my tracksuit on or my training gear and done it like that. So, nothing too much, just the Brentford game we did everything we could and we went over and over our stuff and we got to 2.45pm and I was still in my suit so I kept it on.
JP
What is the situation with your own contract?
GA
At the minute my contract expires at the end of the season. Like I have said with players' contracts and stuff, the more we win the more ammunition everybody gets to renew that and maybe get improved contracts and stuff like that.
But, at the moment my concentration is just like the players' concentration should be and that is winning games, keeping the improvement going and then it is up to the board if they think that the thing is right to do something about that.
It is certainly in the back of my mind, but, it is not something that I am too worried about yet. I think if we win games and we keep the progress going then it is something I think I would hope would take care of that.
JP
Over 2,000 Cumbrians are going to be at Hillsborough to watch you tomorrow, how will that feel as a manager?
GA
I think we have said time and time again in these press conferences and outside with the press that our fans away from home have been nothing short of sensational. I think it was the season before last we had an average of 891 fans travelling to away games, which when you consider the distance it is frightening.
The 2,000 or so that go on Saturday, hats off to them again, we just want to make sure that they are coming away having seen a performance again. We get certainly to a stage where we build up this fanbase and have one of those performances that is slightly below par.
We don't want that to happen, we want to keep the enthusiasm going, the optimism going and mostly for us as the football club we want to get a positive result. So, they will go and I know they will be noisy and I know they will mix in with 20-odd thousand Sheffield Wednesday fans and hopefully have a great day out, and hopefully they are still smiling come 4.45pm.
JP
Not to take the negative on it, but does it knock you a little bit that you don't get that average of 891 from teams coming to Brunton Park?
GA
It doesn't nark me a little bit, it narks me a lot. Because we are putting money into other clubs to help them, 891 x £20 is a lot of money. If we could have that guaranteed at home every game, then it pushes our average crowd up to nearly 6,500 for a start off and gives you a little bit of extra revenue to try to keep building the squad and keep improving your depth of quality.
It is vitally important for us, we can't hide from the financial side of the situation that money is going to play a part in our success. We have done it reasonably well over the last couple of years but we are always wanting better and we are always wanting more.
JP
Onto the injury situation, (Kevan) Hurst and (Marc) Bridge-Wilkinson both out of the squad with injuries, what is the situation with those two?
GA
They will not be available for tomorrow. Hurst is in with Dolly (Neil Dalton) having a look at his groin situation and then they might scan that and find out if there is anything worse than just that he needs a little bit of a rest. He might find that difficult but he is playing under a bit of a hindrance at the minute, so we have pulled him out to see if we can clear it up for good.
Little Bridgey has got a bang on his foot and he is not happy with it and it is aggravating him. But, we would hope that is not a long-term one, so we are going to be without those two.
JP
And following on from last week's result and performance, have you worked on anything different? What have you been working on in the build-up to this game?
GA
All sorts really, we know what we think we need to improve on, there are areas of the pitch we think we are doing OK on. I don't think we are the finished article by a long way.
So, there are certain areas where we had a split session yesterday where Kav worked with a group of players and I worked with a group of players. Without saying what we have done, we hope we have improved at one end and certainly at the other. That might tell you a bit about where the split was.
JP
And just finally, it is an opportunity for you to give a non-manager's answer to this one. Alan Irvine just pipped you to the Manager of the Month, his team are just pipping you to the top of the league, surely you would love to pip him to the points when it comes down to tomorrow's game.
GA
Well, disregarding the fact that he beat me on both counts it is a football game that I want to win. I love Alan to bits, he is a great lad and I have got a lot of time for him. He has had a rough ride at Preston at the back end and started off really well.
But, he is a good man, he is a good manager, he has got a really good staff with him. I can't wait to go, can't wait to pitch my wits against them and of course I want to come out on top. So, that will all go to one side for the 90 minutes, but, I am certainly looking forward to seeing him, we get on very well.