United boss Greg Abbott (GA) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) at Friday morning's press conference for the local media, Abbott first talking about the home fans supporting the players :
GA
Players get affected, and let me tell you know, players get affected by what they read and what they hear, they do. After defeats when they hear stuff I sometimes think that the stuff they are hearing is not absolutely bang on true, it is just knee-jerk reaction to stuff. My job, I was talking to the fans before the game, I went into the Paddock before the game and they said this was not right and that was not right and we shout this and we shout that.
I asked them if they thinked it would affect the players what they were shouting and they asked me what I meant. I said that if you berate players from the terraces do you think that is good for them or bad for them? I said that I don't berate them because they need a comforting arm sometimes and they need the supporters when they are not playing so well believe it or not.
They don't need you when you are playing well, they are alright, it is when you are not having a good time that people need to gather round and they find support and comfort. The supporters respected that and they said that they didn't realise that or understand all that, but it is hard in the 90 minute period not to have emotion and not to say what you feel and not to let your feelings come out. Sometimes I would like to be critical, but you think that it might have a negative effect.
I spoke to somebody the other day about if I scrutinised everything you do in your job and I was on your shoulder criticising everything they did, I think they would crumble, some people would crumble in that job. But, from some reason football people are expected not to crumble, not to react, not to be affected by it, but they are, it is as simple as that. You have got some characters that are strong and you have got some characters that are not quite so strong, those characters need support and I think that has been a recipe for a lot of success we have had.
JP
In terms of what you have just been talking about, you talked quite passionately after the victory on Tuesday about needing the fans back, how big a reaction do you hope from that?
GA
I would like 17,000 in there tomorrow, I don't think we are going to get it but I would like a massive reaction. I think the players deserve it, we are 33 games into the season, we have got resources massively less than 70% of the league and we are sitting a point behind sixth place with two games in hand, I think the players deserve that.
Everybody is telling me we have got to get promotion, we have got to get in the top six, well everybody come to the party now, everybody come and show us that you really believe that we can get there and you are supportive of what is going on. I think if they can just find that time and that expense to come for the next few games it will give us a fantastic lift, and I think the players honestly, I honestly believe that and I think I am a honest person. I think the players deserve that attendance and that support, so let's see if we can see it through, why not, let's see if we can see this thing through.
JP
In the medium and short term as well do those gates have a huge effect? Especially in the short term, for instance if you were to want to strengthen your squad at the moment while these gates stay where they are does that mean that you are stopped from doing that sort of thing?
GA
Honestly, short term, medium and long term the gates affect us. I am already worried that I can't strengthen now if we need a push to push us over the line because of finances. I am worried medium term that I can't tie down all the players that I would like to keep at the club for the start of next season, and long term for bringing in players to add to that to make us a little bit stronger if we need to be a little bit stronger for the long term to make things better.
So, I do worry because I know what the situation is and the gates of 3,500-4,000, they would be good enough to keep the club maybe top sixteen in League One, they won't be good enough to sustain a Championship psuh or if you actually ever did get to the Championship to sustain a Championship side, absolutely not. If we miss out this season or we just get in the play-offs then we have got to sustain that and sustainability on those gates would be very, very difficult.
I have been told that and I am fully aware of that and then my job becomes much, much harder but the demands are still the same, the expectation on me is still the same, you need to be in the top six or we have failed haven't we. I don't think we actually have, it has come down to a fact that the top six teams in every division, if you look at every four divisions, have all got the most money.
There is no secret in that, Crawley, Manchester United, Manchester City, Charlton, Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United, West Ham, Southampton, they have all got the most money. So, it does make a big difference and if we are going to be there up challenging then we just need to make that better somehow. I know things are very, very difficult out there but they have to improve, it is as simple as that, it is a fact, that is a fact now, it is becoming a fact, it is not me sort of getting on a high horse and pleading, it has just become a fact.
JP
And the fans hear about things that might not happen and probably haven't happened, just to put something real on it, Stuart Parnaby being here on trial, have you potentially missed out on that player because of that situation at the moment?
GA
Absolutely yeah, absolutely, at the minute Stuart has played over 150 games in the Premiership and he has lost his way a little bit, similar to the Ian Harte situation, he is only 29, he can play left-back, right-back, centre-half or sitting midfield player. He is like a dream player for this club with that versatility and we couldn't do it because things are very, very tight at the moment.
There is hopefully going to be room for something if we need it to drag the thing over the line, hopefully. But, it will depend on whether people come through the gate, and I am pretty forceful with John (Nixon), people might think what am I doing but I really am forceful with John and John is not going to let a Rangers or a Port Vale or a Plymouth happen at this football club.
That is his job and to be fair if he does it on the gates that we have got at the moment then he has done his job. People can say what they want but it has got to be somewhere where reality has to kick in. We would have liked to have brought Stuart in, he loved it here as well, he absolutely loved it and he said some nice things about what we did with him.
We did him some one to one work because he is behind fitness-wise, and we looked at him as a player and thought that he is a really, really good player who would have given us that strength and that comfort should anything happen to anybody in the back four, and probably would have forced his way into the team at some point.
It is frustrating for me as a manager when I see other managers going in and buying, I mean Crawley in League Two have just got Gary Alexander out of Brentford, while Patrick Agyemang has just gone to Stevenage. So, without feeling sorry for myself because I never do, probably envious and green in the face and anger, I crack on with my boys and do you know what we are going to give it a right good go.
JP
Any news on extending Jordan Cook's loan spell which ends this weekend?
GA
I need to speak to Jordan, Friday is not a good day before his last game so I will speak to him probably Sunday and over Monday, and ask for his opinion on where he thinks he is and where Sunderland think he is, we will sort that situation out early next week.
JP
OK, what is the situation with Matt Robson? He is starting to have been out for a little while now, is that injury starting to look more long-term than it first might have been?
GA
You need to speak to Dolly (Neil Dalton) because he has been to see a specialist in the Midlands. I do know the outcome, medically I couldn't explain it to you because there are too many complicated words for just a mere manager. But, he is on the mend apparently and it is going to be weeks, not months but not days. That is all I can give you at the minute, that is me telling you everything, it is not going to be days, it is not going to be months but it is going to be weeks.
But, weeks could turn into months as far as I am concerned and I am not trying to baffle you or anything, we are probably looking at two to three weeks hopefully and that is all I can tell you on it. He had a couple of injections, and I think he has got to have a series of injections, but they have identified the problem which is a ligament problem. You would be better off speaking to Dolly to give you the complete rundown on that.