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JP
What did you make of the performance of Vincent Pericard given a bit of time to reflect. Do you think he is someone who can really help things for the club?
GA
Without a doubt, the second-half especially when we got the ball into him and he has got his legs, he looks like he could be a real handful, and we could just have somebody there that could help us in that attacking situation. But he looks a big unit, he has wanted to play the whole 90 minutes, he has got better as the game has gone on. He will get better for a week of training we have this week and we are hopeful with that one, he looked OK.
JP
And you talk about he will be better with a week of training, he obviously needs a little bit of match sharpness but he still had an effect. I think a lot of fans will applaud the fact that you went with him from the start rather than perhaps having him as a substitute. Do you feel that was vindicated despite the result?
GA
Oh absolutely, if it hadn't been then we would have pulled him off and made a substitution. But we thought as the game went on he was having more and more of an influence and to be fair his little toe-poke pass to Kevan (Hurst), if Kevan puts that in we are at 2-2 and we might have gone on to win the game. They are all ifs and buts but I think the decision to play him was hopefully right. I am listening to the fans again, if they are happy with that then I have got something right.
JP
What about that right-back position, how is David Raven coming on? Is he hopeful for the weekend?
GA
No.
JP
Let's talk about Ian Harte then, you said that you felt he was genuinely the best option. Going into the weekend is that the case having seen the goals as I am sure you will have done?
GA
One of the goals is Ian's fault and down to Ian, and the back four and myself have had a real brutal conversation today and they have been very receptive into what I am talking about. There were individual errors for both goals, we left too many gaps, the balance of the side isn't right with Ian, we know that, we have seen that. We thought he might be able to do a job short-term but that might be a situation we look at and change around.
But the other goal was down to somebody else and fully accepted responsibility there has the other player. So like the other 12 or 13 goals we have conceded this season, a lot of them are down to individual errors, and we are not making too much about that. So we are not going to make too much about a player playing out of position. What we have got to do is try to change it and get the right form there because the game is a big one on Saturday for us.
JP
You talked about Tony Kane at the weekend coming back and the fact that he is an option for you again. Is he looking at being in that first-team squad and being available in that position, is he one of your options given how he has done at Darlington?
GA
He is an option, definitely an option, we are going to look at the whole thing. Players are playing for their shirt this week, I can make as many changes as I want after Saturday, so I am entitled to do that, everybody is in contention for a place and Tony is one of them.
I have spoken to Dean Windass who is a pal of mine and he said he did very well. He said he has come to a side that was struggling, obviously they have been struggling and he said that he (Kane) got caught up in that a little bit, but he has done OK.
So he didn't make the last two squads, which is a bit disappointing but the new manager (Steve Staunton) had kept faith with the team. He was ineligible for playing the Johnstone's Paints game and the new manager came in and saw that, he liked what he saw and Tony hasn't got his place back. So the reports were reasonably encouraging.
JP
With Raven and (Paul) Thirlwell, what is the timescale if you can give us a broad one on the pair of them?
GA
I can't to be honest, I have no idea, Rav is due to see a specialist, Thir has seen a specialist and had an injection. We have got to wait until that settles down and then we get a timespan from there. So I can't give you that information, the quicker the better for me but at the minute it doesn't look like Rav is going to be fit for a couple of weeks at least and similar with Thir.
JP
What are the nature of their injuries? Because they are obviously key players to you aren't they.
GA
You need to speak to Dolly (Neil Dalton). David's is a complex hip problem and Thir's is an acute achilles problem. To get the full medical spec you need to speak to our physiotherapist about that.
JP
Gary Madine going on loan to Coventry City is one that came as a bit of a surprise to some people, what happened there?
GA
They have been watching and monitoring Gary for a long, long time and I think they were initially going to bid alongside Newcastle. But they didn't do that, they followed his progress and they have seen he is not playing for us. They have taken him on a short-term loan, or a three month loan with a view to signing him on a permanent basis if he does enough to impress. I couldn't guarantee Gary games at the moment so it makes sense for him to go there and if he does well then he can carve out a move for himself.
JP
With it being as you say on a view to a permanent move, does that mean that he hasn't really made that step up that you needed from him then?
GA
No, it just means that he is not going to get into the team right now away and he is getting impatient. Coventry have offered him a chance to impress to get a permanent move. I need Gary to be patient, he is not going to be my first line number nine right at the minute, and he is not happy with that so hence he is going on a three month loan to Coventry to see if he can get a place there.
JP
Some fans are saying though that if a Championship club are interested in him then why isn't he getting a chance at Carlisle United. Do you feel he has had that chance, at least in the short-term here?
GA
Well we will find out won't we, generally on players I have released, none of them have come back to hurt me. There are a few struggling and have not gone on to do anything so we have had this conversation with people before. Let's see how many games he plays and what he does and that will tell us whether we were right or wrong in doing what we are doing with him.
JP
Speaking of your other striking options, Andy Cook got off the mark on his debut for Barrow, I am sure that is just what you sent him there for.
GA
That is exactly what we have sent him there for and we are delighted for him. He has had ten minutes with Barrow and scored a goal, but if he can force his way into their team and score some more goals then that tells him he is nearer than he was before he went, and that is excellent for Andy Cook and the club.
JP
And just finally, the youth team have had very good succcess for a club of Carlisle's size in recent years in the FA Youth Cup. They have drawn Accrington away in the first round, do you think that is a good draw for them and happy to see them back involved on that one?
GA
Yeah, Accrington is a winnable game for them and it is a nice competition. It is the first sort of real serious competition that the kids have and they will be keen and looking forward to it and hoping they do very well.