United boss Greg Abbott (GA) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Paul Newton (PN) at Tuesday afternoon's press conference for the local media, Abbott in the second and final part of a lengthy interview first talking about there being any potential transfer activity for the Blues:
PN
The crowds are down obviously, the income is down, is there any scope financially to look in the loan market at the moment?
GA
I think we need to look at the players’ performances. I think we have got three centre-halves, each of them have got 350 games, and if you asked all of them if they had been as consistently as good as they were at other times previous they would probably all be brave enough to say no they haven’t.
We need to see improvement there and we need to give them some protection, we need players back on the training field, if they are not going to get fit then we are probably looking at a stage where we might need to do something over a short period and I need to maybe ask John (Nixon) if we can just have something short-term to buy us a bit of time.
We could have Lee in five weeks, six weeks, I am talking glass half full here, because we desperately need him, we could have Jon-Paul McGovern back within the next week, we could have Rory Loy back within a fortnight, we could have Paul Thirlwell back within a fortnight, we could have Matty Robson back within maybe a week to ten days, Chris Chantler might make Saturday. I am getting excited here because when I have got them back I think we are a decent team, and we will defend better because we have got a stronger eleven out, and an eleven that is used to and experienced in dealing with these types of situations.
PN
How important is Saturday’s game now do you think?
GA
The biggest game of the season for me, absolutely the biggest game of the season. We need to get a result, we need to get another decent draw and we need to make a run in the competition for two reasons, to give us some confidence and form, and to give us some more belief, and to let our supporters see some successful home performances, and also a critical situation with the finance. It might just get us those two loan players a cup run to buy us a bit of time.
If I was sitting here having all my players fit and we were conceding goals like we were I would be a distraught manager. I feel that I am a manager that at the minute who has had a tough ride in terms of luck with the injury situation we have got to key players at key times during the season. Every time we seem to get a head of steam up another one goes down and it is killing us.
PN
Are you confident that you can pull things round?
GA
I have to be, if I am not then there are major problems. But, we need everybody pulling together, we don’t need the fans jumping on everyone’s back. It is an obvious state of where football is at the minute, everybody at home, there wasn’t a home victory in League One on Saturday and sometimes you wonder why, I think it is maybe sometimes the pressure gets to the players.
That is not saying to the fans they can’t shout what they believe is right and they can’t have their grumbles, because I grumble. But, sometimes you turn it the other way round and fill them with confidence and belief and they just might just get there for you, it is definitely harder when there is grumbling around. But, not one home team won on Saturday, that is a crazy, crazy way that the game is going.
But, we need to just appeal to them to stick with us, just see us through this little tricky period and we will come out of it at the other end, I am sure we will. But, we are buying time at the minute and getting through this sticky patch without key players, and when we get them back we think we are a really decent side. Well, we are a decent side, we have proved that already even this season at times, we have gone to big places and won, certainly did it last season for 15-20 games at home, so we know where we are but we need everybody on the pitch.
PN
What is the situation with Paddy Madden’s loan spell at the moment?
GA
I think at the moment a final decision has not been made, but there are conversations going on between the two clubs and Paddy, and a decision will be made probably at some point tomorrow or Thursday. But, there are a lot of things to take into account with Paddy’s situation, some of it for Paddy’s benefit and some of it for our benefit, and obviously then there is Yeovil in it.
So, it is not as cut and dried, there are a lot more things just than Paddy coming back or Paddy staying there than meets the eye. So, I have given what I think to John (Nixon) and John is talking to Yeovil, we see where it all is, see what the final state of play is in terms of what they want to do with him and what we perceive to be the right thing, and then a decision will be made probably at some point tomorrow.
PN
I am guessing that Paddy will be happy to stay down there a bit further given the fact that he has obviously been playing well and scoring goals?
GA
Yeah, Paddy wants to play football, and that has always been Paddy’s gripe since he has been here. He has been really unfortunate with us, we have not seen the best of him I don’t think, he had two three month injuries at the start of both seasons which put him on the back foot in seasons where we did reasonably well and the people in his position have done well.
Sometimes circumstances have not gone for Paddy, which happens at some clubs, his injury at that time he got injured and then the form of Lee Miller, the form of even Danny Cadamarteri early on in the season. The system we have played, the goals we have conceded all sort of come into the equation, so it is not just a straightforward situation.
So, like I said, I think we are revisiting that tomorrow and hopefully the decision will be made, I don’t think there is any right decision with Paddy because if he goes there and scores goals we will probably live to regret that, if he stays with us and he doesn’t get in the team and he doesn’t play then we will probably live to regret that.
So, it is one of those, I wish we had a crystal ball but what we are going to do is try to make the right decision as we sit here now at this moment in time, not what has happened in this last four weeks, not what has happened over the last two years and what might happen in the next three months. So, it is a difficult one, it is not straightforward, but I am sure there will be arguments for and against every situation that goes on with Paddy, so we will leave it until tomorrow.