United boss Greg Abbott (GA) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) after Carlisle's 3-0 defeat away to Dagenham & Redbridge, Abbott saying that the Blues lost the match because, unlike the Daggers, they didn't have an edge to their game :
JP
What did you make of that today?
GA
Erm, well firstly that Dagenham have played ever so well and they have given themselves a fighting chance of staying up, and we have probably come to the end of a long, hard season and our performance showed. They had edge to their game, they needed the points, they needed to play and perform, and we didn't have the edge. When you don't apply yourself properly and you haven't got that edge to your play then you generally come off second best, and today we came off second best.
JP
One team fighting for their lives, one team with maybe their foot on the plane abroad then?
GA
Well, I wouldn't say foot on the plane because we have just talked about our duty to ourselves to protect ourselves from any type of criticism. That is why the team has been as strong as we can possibly be, we know now that next week is going to be a big week for us. Because, we want to go out on a high, we want to go with a decent performance. But, today looked like they were fighting for their lives and playing for their lives and we didn't have a great deal to play for.
But, second-half when we had a bit of a run-in at half-time we improved, still conceded a goal mind against the run of play in the second-half, but we tried to give our fans that came down value for their money. Probably today they are probably feeling aggrieved that we didn't, but over the season we have done and we have done all our work sort of earlier on. Dagenham were fighting for their lives and it showed out there today.
JP
Is that one of the disappointments perhaps, when you are building up to try to get the fans back in for next season that this will leave a bit of a sour taste for a few of them?
GA
No, I think the fans have seen some terrific stuff, I mean it is only a week ago we beat Rochdale and we smashed Colchester at home. So, the fans know overall when they put all the pieces together, it is an overall thing, that we have been terrific, the players have been terrific, and we will try to improve again next year.
JP
We were saying to them (the listeners) at the end when we were getting a few texts in, you know, keep some perspective, not just today, but there are some unhappy fans today, I mean it is a long way to travel isn't it?
GA
Yeah, absolutely, that is why we have never changed the side and we have tried to do everything properly. Today, like I said, there was edge to their play and not an edge to ours, but for that reason I sympathise with the fans. I went over to try to speak to them after the game and just tell them that, but they have come here and spent a lot of money hence my reasoning for keeping a strong side. I have told you this for a few weeks now, there is no sympathy in football if you don't put out sides that produce, and today unfortunately we didn't produce for those fans.
JP
For those fans who have been calling for the youngsters after these players haven't produced today, might you let some of those youngsters have a go just to appease them perhaps?
GA
It is not about appeasing anybody, it is about picking the right team at the right time, and that is what I will continue to do.
JP
And that might maybe have a few of the youngsters in there?
GA
We need to perform properly next week, and when youngsters are ready they play, whether it is the first game, second game, 25th game or the last game, if I think they are ready they will play, if I don't think they are ready they will have to wait until they are ready. But, next week will be a tough week in terms of training and we are asking for a performance from our players to finish the season off in a manner in which they have done most of the season through, and I think that is important to everybody.
JP
A rare off day for Lubomir Michalik today but it is rare, that is the right word isn't it, and fans must remember that?
GA
Yeah, I mean if you put the whole thing into context, we have had a performance today below par against a team that had edge and purpose and a real desire to win, and we never found that today and then you are always on the back foot. But, without singling out individuals as a team we didn't perform, there were a couple that did ever so well but by and large there were seven or eight that were under par, and then when you have got that situation you are going to be struggling.
JP
You will be reallly keen I am sure now to try to somehow get a performance out of this for weekend so that the fans go into the summer break with something to just take into next season and try to perhaps get a few more season tickets in?
GA
There will be a performance next week, there always has been after a poor performance, we have had probably three of these all season which have been absolutely dire. Walsall was one of them, probably Dagenham home and away was two and Torquay was another one, Peterborough, five, maybe half a dozen.
A team like us, a club like us then that is about............ we have probably done better than most, and that is why we are not near the foot of the table and we have been to Wembley and won a cup final. So, we have to look at some tremendous positives, and try to alleviate or eliminate those half a dozen games for next season. But, by and large, even when we have been beaten we have given good accounts of ourselves, but today we didn't.
JP
And I know that you have really wanted to finish in that top ten, you can still do that going into the final game, that must be an incentive for you?
GA
Well, then it is progress again, and like I said, you look at the whole picture, you look at the whole 46 games and all the cup situations and all that put together and it has been a reasonably successful season. We know where we want to be and in the league we have got to improve again, and let's hope we are sitting here next season talking about eighth and upwards, so that might mean you are in the top six.
But, there is always an aim, let's not single out today's performance and dwell it on too much, and let's look at Rochdale less than a fortnight ago, everybody was saying we were one of the best footballing sides in the league. So, we can't go from that high to so low in the short space of time, context is the right thing, but the ones that you care about are the fans that come down. That is why we have kept trying to play the right team and put the right things together and protect ourselves from a poor performance like this. But, we have found one today and we know that.
JP
Just finally, there was one fan who was seemingly after your blood at half-time and full-time, did you manage to get your point across or was he too keen to get his over?
GA
He wanted his point, he got his point, and I didn't react too much to it. That is an entitlement and he will go away unhappy today, maybe he has been happy at some stage during the season, when he is he will come and say well done, and when he isn't he will say hard lines in the nice way that he has done today.