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PN
Two bad bits of news for you this week?
GA
Yeah, we have had a tough week to be fair with injuries. Coming off the back of losing Paul Thirlwell and Lubo (Lubomir Michalik), so we have lost some big players. But, they are things you have to deal with and the lads have been bright today, and we have managed to sort one thing out with Manchester United with a replacement for Ollie (Oliver Norwood), and they have been fantastic with that.
So, we are on our way to putting it right and we are going to get some of the other players fit we think in the next week to two weeks. So, it is not all doom and gloom but it has certainly been a tough week for us this week.
PN
We will talk about your new loan signing in a minute, Sean McDaid firstly though, that is terrible luck for the player isn't it?
GA
Yeah, it just puts everything into perspective. We think we have got a few problems but you are talking about a lad who has missed a lot of football already. He is an absolute diamond of a person, he wears his heart on his sleeve and he has had the news that he is going to miss the whole of the season.
He faces a big uphill battle to get his knee right so our thoughts are with him at the moment. He has probably got more problems than I have got at the minute, so we are delicate with him and we hope he gets well as quick as he can.
PN
Does this mean you might have to be looking for some defensive options in the loan market now?
GA
Yeah, and it is another reason why we are a bit annoyed that the transfer window is in existence. Clubs like us don't know when we are going to get injuries or suspensions or things of the like and we need some players at the minute and we have to delve into the loan market, it is the only way. As people rightly say, sometimes it is not the best option, the permanent thing is better but at the minute we are forced into doing this because we want to keep our momentum and our season alive.
So, we will be looking actively, well we are already, and we have got one or two irons in the fire for early next week. But, tomorrow we are going to go with what we are going to go with and we will see how it goes and we will see where it takes us.
PN
And Oliver Norwood, what is the situation there?
GA
Ollie had just signed another month because again we are short in that area in terms of midfield players. He has had a slight thigh injury on Tuesday and gone into Manchester on Wednesday just to get it checked out. Their scans have revealed that it was going to be out for the weekend, and then just late last night we found out that it is going to be the whole of the month.
So, we were rocked with that one, because Bridgey (Marc Bridge-Wilkinson) is out at Darlington, he is getting some games, he needs games. We have not got a great deal of cover, Kav (Graham Kavanagh) has gone, he has had a micro-fracture with his knee so the cover that we had with him in an emergency is not there either.
So, it has been a tough situation for us, but we are not going to make any bones about it, we are going to crack on. The fans can rest assured that sometimes in adversity and when things are slightly against you, you come out with a real determination. The players are really determined to make up for the losses that we have suffered over the past few weeks.
PN
There is never a good time to get an injury, but the timing of Oliver Norwood's injury in particular couldn't have been much worse given the fact that it was only days after you extended his loan stay?
GA
Yeah, that is the luck of the draw, that is the chance you take with the loan thing. Nobody can tell you when anyone is going to get injured but sometimes you have got to be lucky with timings, and with this one we were certainly bang unlucky. So was Ollie to be fair because he was loving his time here and he was giving us depth and cover and that sort of thing in that area. But, we have managed to deal with that one and Manchester United have been fantastic with that.
PN
Are we likely to see Oliver back again given the fact that you will have players coming back from injury of course in the next few weeks?
GA
Well, we are certainly not going to take players from clubs the size of Manchester United and know they are not going to play. So, we have obviously got to wait and see how Paul's injury fairs, we have got Corry (Evans) in, we will have to look and assess the situation at the end of the month.
But, he is coming tomorrow, he wants to come and see the players and he wants to watch the game and he wants to come and see me and thank us for our time, and we want to thank him for his as well. So, he is going to come in and we will keep that door wide open for as and when we think it might need to be used again.
PN
Well, let's talk about the positive, you have made a move in the loan market tonight, Corry Evans from Manchester United, just bring us up to date with that.
GA
I am glad you mentioned the positive because it seemed like it was all a downward spiral this week. But, we managed to lift our spirits a bit today, and I have to say that Manchester United have been unbelievable in the way that they have resurrected this Corry Evans deal in terms of Ollie's situation, they have been brilliant.
It is well documented the problems that they have had at the minute and the seriousness of the Wayne Rooney situation. But, they found time to make this happen and I will tell you what, it is all their doing basically to make Corry available. He comes now and hopefully he will give us that player in that area that has got obvious quality.
He has played for his country seven times, he has played for Manchester United and he is itching to play. He knows a bit about us through Ollie and James (Chester), they are really good friends of his and we look forward to including him in the squad for tomorrow and getting him some regular football.
PN
For those who maybe haven't seen him play, is he a similar player to Oliver?
GA
He is probably more like Paul Thirlwell, really mobile, a good tackler, uses the ball well, breaks things up. I think he is what we need with the way we have been playing, he gives us options as well, he could play in a three man midfield, he could play in a two man midfield which is important. He has got bags of energy and he is a good footballer, and he is certainly the type that we need around at the moment.
JP
He has played in defence as well hasn't he for that Manchester United reserve side, so I guess that is a bit of timely cover for you too?
GA
Yeah, especially with Lubo not being quite right at the minute and obviously with the problems we are having at full-back, he comes in. He is a good footballer so he is one that in our situation, it is an advantage if players can shuffle about a bit and play in different positions. He can certainly do that so we are really, really pleased with that one today.
JP
You weren't 100% sure when we spoke yesterday which way Lubo Michalik's injury was going to go, are you telling us now that he looks like he is not available then for tomorrow?
GA
I am 100% sure now, no, I am going to tell you now, he is not going to be available. If we put him in tomorrow and he has a reaction to his hamstring then it could be seven to eight weeks and that would be the whole of his loan spell up. So, it is one of them that a hamstring is so delicate that we just couldn't take any chance with him whatsoever. So, we are what we are tomorrow, he won't even be included in the eighteen and we will go from there.
JP
You will have to get quite creative with the back line then with the players you have got out?
GA
I have got a creative mind at the minute, I have had to have over the last few weeks. So, it is working overtime at the minute but we will come up with a solution, whether it be the right one or not we will see at quarter to five tomorrow night. But, we are hoping, and players generally in this instance react fantastically well.
You know we have said about how good the group is, we are looking for them to perform tomorrow. I think we are asking the fans to come with us tomorrow and get right behind everything we do and urge us over the line and give us a bit of time to regroup if you like in terms of getting some of those boys back fit and in the squad.
JP
Just away from some of the doom and gloom of those awful injuries that you have suffered and the players have suffered. You have got a young lad in, well not quite that young, but you have got a lad in on trial at the minute, Ransford Addo, what can you tell us about him at this stage?
GA
He is not going to be involved with the first-team for the moment, but he certainly looks a really good player. He has played in the Belgian Second Division with Royal Antwerp, he has got a decent background, he has come from a really good source and he has really impressed to be fair.
At the minute he is not fit yet so he is one that we are having a really good look at over a fortnight and then we will make a judgement on him after that. But, he certainly looks a decent player and again he is one that can play in a number of positions and he is really comfortable with the ball. So, it is something that has encouraged us and we are looking at in and amongst the other things we are doing at the minute.
PN
And Charlton tomorrow, a team and a manager (Phil Parkinson) under a bit of pressure at the moment but often they are the most dangerous opponents?
GA
Yeah, well we are probably similar, we think we are dangerous at the minute. Because people might seem to think things have gone against us a little bit this last week or two. But, both managers and both sets of players will no doubt go out tomorrow thinking the whole world is against them.
But, we are not full of any doom and gloom, I have just reported the facts of what has happened. The players are in a really positive frame of mind and I am sure Phil has got his players up for it. You are probably going to see a really exciting game where both players go at each other hammer and tong.
We are certainly going to do that to them and try to put them on the back foot after the result they had last week. We think an early goal or some early encouraging play will rock Charlton and put them on the back foot, and I think that is our aim tomorrow.
They are a massive club, they have been in the Premiership not too far long ago. They haven't had it easy have they? They have found life in this division tough and it is not straightforward because of the size of the club or because you have been in the Premiership that you can get out of it quickly. If they are not right on the day on Saturday then they will find this difficult, if they are then it will be a tough match for us. But, it is certainly one that looks nice on the eye.
JP
And the return of a very familiar face (Joe Anyinsah), a forward I am sure you would have liked to have kept but is now with Charlton?
GA
I wouldn't have liked to have kept him because he didn't want to stay. But, a super lad, I love him to bits as a person but he chose to do something different and I respected that. So, he has moved on and I wish him every success after Saturday.
PN
Mind you, speaking a bit of managers under pressure, you are getting a bit of flak from Bully Beef on the text who says you should have signed (Wayne) Rooney before he changed his mind.
GA
Yeah, we were talking to Sir Alex (Ferguson) about Rooney and he didn't realise we were only interested in Corry Evans. But, we managed to get Evans just before Rooney decided to change his mind, and I think that was the final straw, Carlisle or Manchester United. It tipped the balance for him and he has made his mind up and gone North-West rather than up the north coast.
PN
It wasn't you, Kav, Dennis (Booth) and Dolly (Neil Dalton) with the balaclavas on outside his house last night was it?
GA
It certainly could have been Kav with the way that he tutted in disgust at his decision to stay at Manchester United and not come and give us a helping hand, that is for sure. Nobody has seen Kav for a while so nobody knows where he is.