United boss Greg Abbott (GA) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Paul Newton (PN) at Thursday afternoon's press conference for the local media, Abbott first talking about a midweek off this week for the Cumbrians :
GA
It has been decent, we have done one or two things and gone out to see some games again. I watched Preston on Tuesday night, and I am off again tonight, with the boys having trained this morning. So, we have to keep going and keep finding players and keep finding out about opponents and stuff like that. But, it has given the boys the chance to regroup because they have got a really tough sort of five or six weeks coming up. After Saturday we are going to be bouncing most weeks and it is going to be a real big push for us with the size of the squad we have got.
PN
You had another run-out, another bounce game against Leeds in the week?
GA
Yeah, I mean they are great games for us to keep everybody fit and you can sort of monitor them yourself. You can make substitutions as and when you need to and the tempo of the game is hopefully not going to see people injured and stuff like that, if you see any problems you can change it around. So, yeah, a good game and everybody from our side got a lot out of it and I am sure they did as well.
PN
You have had quite a few of those so far this season, do you think that makes up for not having a reserve team?
GA
Absolutely, we have had loads, we have had quite a few that nobody knows about, I just want them as training games to keep players fit. We go to these places with fantastic facilities and I think the players much prefer to do that than on a cold winter's night go to somewhere like Rochdale and some of the remote places that they have chosen to play their reserve games, which are really awful and they probably shouldn't be allowed to play the games on there. But, these facilities are fantastic and the type of opposition is great, and it gives us the chance to see what players aren't making their first team with views to bringing them in in a recruitment sense, so it is a win-win for us.
PN
Any injury concerns at this stage?
GA
No, at the minute we are in good shape, everybody seems to be bouncing and everybody seems to be fit, and there is just Matty (Robson) coming back from his back and hopefully he is getting some treatment now that is going to squeeze that along, so we are in decent order.
PN
Is there still a hope Matty might be back before the end of the season?
GA
Oh, yeah, without a doubt, we would maybe probably count him out for a week on Saturday but after that we would hope he would be back round training if this course of treatment he is having works, which we are pretty optimistic it is going to do.
PN
How is Rory Loy getting on with his recovery at the moment?
GA
Yeah, Rory is just one we have sort of put to bed a little bit because he is not going to make the training ground before the end of the season. So, we are just setting Rory his target to be with us pre-season to join in all the work and he starts on a level footing with everybody else then.
PN
And Craig Curran, is he a step closer to being in first team consideration?
GA
Yeah, Craig has just about got himself right now, so he can join in with us, he has joined in with us today, he played the game at Leeds and he is a bit further forward than he was, so he probably still needs a couple of games but certainly he is a fit lad Craig and hopefully he will be with us pushing for a place in the near future.
PN
A big win against Bury last weekend, what kind of message do you think that sent out, not just to the rest of the division but also to the fans as well?
GA
Erm, I think one that we are not going to go away easy you know, people aren't going to shrug us off lightly, they are going to have to work to get rid of us. I think we are probably a nuisance to everybody at the minute because we are there and people think they should be competing against x, y and z, but Carlisle are a team that has jumped ahead of that and are causing us a few problems.
But, looking at the table now we are in there with a fighting chance and I think the message has got to be that everybody has got to give it a push for the next five or six games while it is still alive, and it is brutally alive at the minute because we have got two games in hand on the team above us and we are only a point behind. So, we are looking that way rather than the other. But, the message is, let's keep believing and let's keep going for it while there is a genuine chance there, and we hope we can grab it.
PN
A tough game at Bournemouth coming up?
GA
It is when they have got the type of finances they have got available, I mean I sometimes get a bit frustrated that I would love to have a little bit of money to have a go with and see if we really could be top drawer and compete with the Sheffield Wednesdays and the Sheffield Uniteds. But, that is sometimes an issue when you spend money, you don't get it right, results go against you and people start questioning whether it is the right thing or the wrong thing to do.
We have got to take advantage of Bournemouth's position at the minute, they have had a sticky last six or seven games and we have got to go down there believing we can get something out of it and let them spend their money when we have gone.
PN
The home form has been exceptional, I guess as manager you will be looking for an improvement in the away form between now and the end of the season?
GA
Well, the away form has been alright over the season, it is just this last period that has been a problem. We need to rectify that, that is an absolute definite, but over the season it has not been bad, it is just this last four or five games that we have let ourselves down a bit. We need to go with a different mindset and quickly improve that as you say because we need to be picking up draws and the odd win to go along with our home form, and that takes us over the line then.
PN
Is there a belief within the dressing room that you can get in that top six and really push on?
GA
Yeah, there is a definite goal there for the players and they know that. But, it is something we are not talking about too much, we just want to go game by game and I keep saying to John (Nixon), we talked about this after about eight games that if we are in there with sort of 15 or 20 games to go we will take ourselves seriously. We have got to that point now and we are trying to delay that even further to five or six games, but we keep going and I want 17,000 in Brunton Park before the end of the season.
I think if we get to the play-offs, if we do get that then we deserve it and I think they will come as well. Then I will say why has taken it us so long to get that support because we have been nudging along all season really, really, really nicely, a few blips along the way but only like the blips that the other teams have had, every team has blips at this level and we are no different. Financially we deserve to have a blip and I am going to state that, but if we can pull this off then I want the ground full.
PN
Using that word belief, there evidently seemed to be a belief among supporters after the game on Saturday that you can do this now, how important is that for the supporters to completely believe in what might be achievable this season?
GA
Well, it should be the other way round, they should believe from day one and then we have to prove them right or wrong. The supporters should always think, every supporter at every club should think they are going to win the league. I know it is a little bit of a thing that sometimes you get it wrong and the smaller teams aren't going to win the league. But, as a fan I always think Coventry City are going to win the league and then they have to prove different, and they did for 19 seasons on the trot.
Our fans hope we have done it the different way round, they have sort of forced us into doing it and now we are going to force them into, or try to force them into coming and supporting it. But, I certainly think the word on the street is growing that we are not a bad team, we have played very well at times this season, yes we have had inconsistencies but we are in there and we are there on merit and we are in there because we deserve to be in there.
Now we need their backing to take us right the way across the line. I think we got an extra 1,200 for the game on Saturday which is brilliant, let's get another 1,200 for Tuesday's game, we should be getting 6,500-7,000 against Preston, big game, we took 4,500 to their place so we are only asking 2,500 more to come and 1,000 from Preston and we have got 8,000. So, I don't think we are asking for the unquestionable.
PN
Another couple of goals for Lee Miller, have Lee's performances and impact at the club exceeded your expectations from when you signed him?
GA
Erm, yeah, I think we know we needed that type and getting that type is not easy. I think Lee knows he is a decent player but he is now a happy player and he is a comfortable player in the surroundings he is in. He is playing regular, he is well thought of, I think the fans like him, the staff like him, the other players like him and it is a better environment to play your football, and I think we are seeing the best of him.
That ability has always been in there, it is grabbing it out and finding the right club and the right people round him to bring it out, and I think we have done that with Lee. He has been very, very good for us, infact Saturday we laughed about it not being one of his best games and he ends up with two goals, and all day long he just smiles and he will take that with hats on. But, he is a really honest lad and he knows where his standards are and he knows how important he is to us and hopefully he can keep performing between now and the end.
PN
And how much has Lee Miller helped Francois Zoko develop this season in that forward role?
GA
Erm, I don't know really, I don't know if you can help Francois, I think Francois helps Francois, he is that type of player. When he is on and his mindset is positive and he is ready to take people on and get on the ball and get involved in the play he is a fabulous foil for Lee with him up there down the middle and Francois on that side and J-P (Jon-Paul McGovern) giving his reliability on the other. We like the look of the front three and so I think all three are helping each other, and it is great for us to have that quality with us going into such an important period of the season.
PN
Unlike Miller and McGovern, Francois is out of contract in the summer, how important do you think it is to try to persuade him to stay on here?
GA
Erm, yeah, I think we have got to speak to Francois and find out what he wants first, and if he wants to stay and he can really prove to me that he is desperate to stay and help Carlisle United then we will try to do all our best to keep him because he is an important player on his day, but he has to be in the right mindset. But, that situation hasn't been put to him yet because he is concentrating on scoring goals and playing well and keeping the team, which is the most important thing at the minute, right at the top end of the table.
PN
Your team have done well, your midfield have done well particularly with Paul Thirlwell's absence, how pleased have you been with the performance of the young guys in there?
GA
Yeah, I mean we have done this before, lost Paul's experience and his nous and the kids have come, well they are not kids any more, they are young men, but they are developing players and we think they have done fantastically well. As a three there is energy, there is a determination, there is a hunger about their play and they have done very well. To be fair they have never really surprised me, it is a headache problem when all four are fit on which three to play or which two to play or all four to play if we play a different shape. But, nah, certainly pleased with the way those three have done and it has not surprised me one little bit.
PN
Speaking of young players, Chris Chantler has impressed everybody since coming into the team, do you see perhaps his longer term future in that left-back role or do you see perhaps more midfield?
GA
Erm, I wouldn't pinpoint Chris to anything at the minute. What I said about Chris when he came in is that he is a terrific footballer and really good footballers can probably adapt to play anywhere. I think Chris could play left-back, left side of a midfield or left of a three upfront if he wanted to, or he could even play in a position holding in front of the back four or getting the ball just behind the front two, he is that clever and that versatile he could do that.
But, he is a terrific footballer who is uncomplicated and handles the ball really, really well. So, I think at the minute it is let's just enjoy him with what he is doing, because he has certainly been a breath of fresh air for our fans and a breath of fresh air for us and he has done absolutely exceptionally well for the team and he has got to keep that going.
PN
A quick word about Jordan Cook whose loan expired at the weekend, what is the situation with Jordan?
GA
Yeah, I mean it is not dead you know, I need to speak to Jordan on a one-to-one and I am going to do that before the weekend and find out his feelings. I have spoken to Sunderland and I know their feelings, so by Monday there will be a resolve to that one. By the end of next week when the loan window shuts we need to make sure that we have got a squad that can cope, and we have got to think about the worst case scenarios all the time.
But, I don't think again I will be able to bring in five and six, it would be criminal for this club with the work that everybody has put in if we didn't cross the line because we had injuries or a run of bad luck in terms of suspensions or injuries. So, it is highly unlikely we will be able to do three, but listen, we have done alright with what we have got and we have always made good use of what we have got. So, I like the squad, it is the depth which concerns me, but we will have to wait and see.