United boss Greg Abbott (GA) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) following Carlisle's Capital One Cup penalty shootout victory over Blackburn, Abbott saying it has been a tough couple of days:
GA
It is a good feeling isn’t it, it has been a tough couple of days, I have been there before, the team has been there before and it is very difficult. Our team had no right to win that game tonight with the players they had on the pitch and on the bench. The injury to Reece James and 17-year old Pat Brough coming onto the pitch in a man’s game and Alex Salmon coming on at 19.
Looking at the game at the end and it was only because of Paul Thirlwell that we had an average of about 20 because he pushes it up massively. But, he was probably one of our best players tonight, he was outstanding and helps the kids. I suppose for me just to see the fans clapping and smiling and enjoying the game, all their staff as well as ours said it was a great game to watch and you would have paid double.
Well, we owed a double pay performance because we didn’t get much out of Saturday did we? So, hopefully we have just repaid that, we can draw a line under it, we don’t forget it, I don’t forget it, but you have to be so proud of what they have done there.
They should be as well and it has been a big effort, contrary to what anybody might think that is not easy to do what we have done tonight. It is not easy, they are a credit, they are an absolute credit and to have it with such a young side and losing Reece and having another, he is a baby, he is a fledgling, I am really, really pleased with them to be honest.
JP
Patrick Brough is that young it wasn’t even his professional debut because he is not a professional yet?
GA
No, that is right, we nearly couldn’t put him on the bench on Saturday, we nearly couldn’t even put him on the bench because he wasn’t registered, he hasn’t even got a squad number and we only got him registered at twelve o’clock. We realised that he wasn’t registered and we only just got the paperwork deadline by minutes because we actually thought that if anything happens to Reece then we have got nobody to fill in at left-back, nobody.
Wow! Wow! I am just so pleased for him, he has just got a little smiley face there and I don’t think he knows what he has done, he might wake up thinking it is a dream, and I can’t say what I why want to say because I would get in trouble.
JP
And just aside from the fact that he defended splendidly for you, the through ball for David Amoo shows that there is some raw talent there that if you can cultivate that over his youth apprenticeship then you might just have some player there?
GA
Listen, he is not a bad player, you would have to say that did you think he could handle that against a Championship side with the quality he did? Well, you would have to say you would very much doubt it, but he did didn’t he, he did. I mean he will not be able to walk tomorrow with the energy and the work he has put into that. But, credit, absolute credit, and to be honest let’s give Eric Kinder a pat on the back, another one of Eric’s lads and it is great to see Eric, he is such a good fella and he was so pleased for those young kids.
He almost gave the game away by celebrating with our players because I think of his pride in which he has developed this group. He has given Davie Irons a tough marker and it is great to see him, I love him to bits, I actually love him to bits. He is a top man and I was sort of pleased for him, but his own probably team-mates are not happy with him tonight, but hopefully he goes on and does it for them.
JP
So many talking points tonight, but the fact that you finished that game with six youth graduates in your team, I mean that shows an amazing future hopefully for Carlisle?
GA
Hmm, scary, I mean you are going back to the olden days because it doesn’t happen very often anymore does it where teams have people that come up through the ranks. But, Crewe did it and they have done it really successfully haven’t they and we are probably in a position over the next couple of years where we are going to have to do it. I tried to get Jack Lynch on as well but I realised I couldn’t put four substitutes on because of Broughy being such an early substitution.
But, he would have gone on as well if I could have got him one, and that would have been another one. So, fair play to them, I am just pleased for them and pleased, do you know what, I am actually pleased for the chairman Andrew Jenkins and John Nixon, they took a bit of flak on Saturday and they are trying like mad to run this club properly.
It is difficult, it is not easy, listen, it is not easy, I took a lot of responsibility for everybody on Saturday because I don’t want them getting screamed at. We are what we are and we know how tough it is going to be. We have always advocated the support of the fans and I thought we got it on Saturday to be fair and I thought we got it today, but the late goals disrupted our little bit of progress.
Hopefully tonight we have bought a few back and we can get a bit of a consistent run without being so up and down in the space of a few days. That is what we are trying to get away from, but there will be some accidents along the way with the group as young as it is.
JP
You are going to be an enigma this season aren’t you, a lot of the clubs won’t know so much about your young squad and you will get brilliant days like today and you will get bad days, hopefully not quite as bad as Saturday very often, but you are going to get that inconsistency. But, you would imagine the fans will forgive that as long as there is always the effort that we saw tonight?
GA
Yeah, Saturday was not good, we have said all this, we would have got a gallantry medal at 2-1, but they were too weak, they conceded the goals too cheaply and then the fans have a disappointment and a downer on the whole operation. But, they have won a lot of that back, the players have won a lot of that back tonight, and I will tell you what, the staff have worked hard as well.
I have to tell you that the staff have worked exceptionally hard and we said we would take the responsibility, I did that, I asked the players today if they felt disappointed then go and show how disappointed they were. I think to a man I don’t think we can have any qualms about anybody’s trying to rectify a situation, and that’s what you would have to give them credit for.
JP
Chris Lumsdon who hates social media in general says that you want to print out the tweets that we have had through and put them in your dressing room to show the players what a performance like this means to the fans, because they have gone absolutely wild for this tonight.
GA
Yeah, well, do you know what, we probably don’t need to, we can imagine. But, it is fantastic and that is the pleasing thing, I have tried to get that reaction from the fans, we are trying like mad to get that reaction as often as we can and as long as we can. The applause means a lot to us, the praise means a lot to us, the criticism hurts us more than you would ever imagine, but we take it.
I think tonight we are probably entitled to take a bit of praise tonight, even though I have told them not to even think about saying they are tired on Saturday. They are in tomorrow, we are going to train tomorrow, we are not having any days off, we are going to train tomorrow, we are going to train on Friday. Train accordingly because of the effort they have put in tonight but nobody turns round and tells me they are tired on Saturday because they are weak excuses.
If they think they are tired then they will be, if we tell them they are tired they won’t be, you can tell young people anything they want and they believe you because they trust us. So, we are going to tell them they are not going to be tired and they are going to win the game and we are going to get three points on our league programme and we can start running again in that side of it as well.
JP
Speaking about praise where it is due, you felt you had to do something after the goals you conceded at the weekend, and you put Paul Thirlwell in defence and it seemed a masterstroke?
GA
Well, we still conceded three so I will change that again on Saturday and see if we can get down to two. We are going down, 4-3, 2-1, hopefully we get a nil at the end of it, but we haven’t got five different centre-halves. I thought he was magnificent to be fair, he was magnificent, some of his tackling, some of his timing of his tackles, what he does as well which you probably won’t see is talk and his organisation is fantastic.
JP
He marshals the back line doesn’t he?
GA
Marshals, perfect.
JP
My gesticulation was marshal there by the way, not hurry up, you can carry on.
GA
I thought you were telling me to finish. Yeah, he is a leader, he is a top, top leader, he is not the noisiest person round the place, he is a bright and bubbly sort of guy, but the kids need him, thy need him. They need our senior players at the minute and that is the balance that we look for, there were too many young ones out there tonight but they have done themselves proud.
JP
The immediate fear on Saturday of course when Lee Miller got sent off was that you would be missing him for three games, but the biggest compliment you can pay to Mark Beck tonight is that you wouldn’t have noticed?
GA
Yeah, well Becky is not a bad player and he is developing and he is getting better. I still think he has got a bit to learn, he has got a bit to go but they all have haven’t they, even Brad Potts made a few mistakes, they all make a few mistakes. But, you have got to forgive that, you have got to look beyond all that because that is what they are doing, you do that early in your careers. It is when you get to 24 or 25 and you are still making those mistakes that you probably find your level.
But, hopefully they will get less and less of those mistakes and Becky and all the rest of them keep producing and progressing and they have great careers. That is the key, I want them all to have great careers, that is all, that is what I am interested in. I love the players, I love the club, I love the way the thing is all put together, but a lot of pride I will get is in seeing some of the players progress.
I watched Adam Clayton last night and he was outstanding for Huddersfield, and I am quite pleased with that because you think that you have had a little bit of something to do it. He keeps ringing me and telling me that he enjoyed his time here. Tim Krul rang me today to thank me for his time here and he was talking about one or two other things, but it was because he has enjoyed his spell here.
They ring us quite often, that is a compliment to everybody at this club that everybody that comes through it tends to go away with a nice impression. Hopefully those kids do that wherever they go and wherever they get to.
JP
Nice Impression that we have had of David Amoo, one of your summer signings so far, what a goal, well two goals, but the second one was just unbelievable.
GA
Well, don’t have him tell you he is tired, when after he scored it he sprinted 90 yards when he didn’t need to, all the glory stuff, what a load of rubbish, and then he is telling me he can’t get back to chase the full-back. So, he has going to get hammered tomorrow, but it was a great goal wasn’t it, a great goal, he is not bad is he, nobody wanted him and he is rubbish apparently. Well, I will take that rubbish, I will take that rubbish if he keeps scoring goals like that. I have got a little bet with them to the end of the season to see if he scores eight goals, so he is going to get dropped soon.
JP
After three in two?
GA
Three in two, he is going to be out, once he gets to seven you will see that that is it because then I’ll be coughing up, so he won’t play many, he will be out of the team that is for sure.
JP
And Lewis Guy with a goal in his second game, if he can keep up with one in two then you will be pretty chuffed with that signing as well?
GA
Yeah, I mean that is another good one but he ran out of legs didn’t he, not fit enough, so we brought him off, back to the drawing board with him. He loves it here, I think he has got all his mates here the way he is coming off and waving to everybody and everywhere. He was waving to a corner where there was nobody stood, but he is a Carlisle lad, or Penrith, well I don’t know where he was actually born. But, he likes this club and he likes being here and I think we might see a resurgent Lewis Guy, but he has been a big player for us, especially with the injuries we have had. I thought he enjoyed himself.
JP
At the risk of getting ahead of ourselves, he has already said to us on the football forum that even if he scored 15 goals before Christmas he wouldn’t be going anywhere because he wants to be at Carlisle, there is no risk of that?
GA
Nobody else wants him, nobody else wants him, so he won’t be going anywhere.
JP
He might do if he scores 15 goals.
GA
Has he ever scored 15 goals?
JP
In total.
GA
No, listen, it is career chances again isn’t it, it puts them back on the map, if he scores 15 goals and he has got options then that is great for him. But, it will be great for us if he gets 15 goals by Christmas, I will take him wherever he wants. But, it would be nice if we could get a bit of a group together, without getting ahead of ourselves, that is going to progress together and take this club a bit further forward than it is.
JP
How do you build on this and take it into Saturday now, that is the ultimate question?
GA
Probably some deep heat and some massaging oils to be fair, because they will be stiff tomorrow, they will be tired. But, listen, the big crowd and the adrenaline of Saturday will all take care of that, they can be tired on Sunday, we have got a free week next week so we can regroup early on next week.
JP
And you have got any opinion on round two of the League Cup, or is it just another home tie?
GA
Accrington at home would do me, without being disrespectful, no actually, a bad statement, because Accrington have had a fantastic result and they will be as tough as anybody else because they would come thinking they could win as well. So, it would be nice to just get a really good big club with a lot of fans.