United boss Greg Abbott (GA) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) following Carlisle's abandoned match at Gateshead, Abbott talking after the Blues had been 2-0 down when the match was waterlogged off on the 58 minute mark :
JP
A bit of a farce in the end I suppose but at least we tried to get it on?
GA
Yeah, everybody needed a game, it is part of your programme, this game, the two 45 minutes, the split halves is how we do things and it is just disappointing we haven't managed to do it. But, right from the kick-off the ball wasn't moving through the pitch and trying to pass the ball, which we are trying to do, is nigh on impossible and a couple of mistakes for goals maybe down to the pitch as much as anything, and it ends up as a little bit of a sorry affair to be honest.
JP
Did you manage to take anything out of the game really today?
GA
Not really, nobody is injured I suppose and we needed a game at the end of the week, we had a really good week, but nothing really to write home about, nothing to get worried about or too upset about really, but nothing certainly to be happy about in terms of we haven't got a proper game of football and that is what we were looking for.
JP
Chris Lumsdon said on the radio that the only positive that you will be able to take is that you will have got a bit of fitness at least for your first-half team?
GA
Yeah, even then the players looked at the pitch and when you can't pass it and you are trying to pass the ball it is a bit demoralising. But, the bits and pieces in the first-half, we were a bit upset that we gave it away too cheaply, that might have something to do with the pitch, players will always make excuses but I don't like to make too many excuses. I think we gave it away too cheaply and then we didn't work hard enough to win it back, so that is a little bit of a message that has gone through that if we do give the ball away we have got to work harder to get it back. But, it was hard to pass it, try to work it through midfield and I think the goal, the ball, Stephen (O'Halloran) has got it stuck under his feet in a puddle and then Steven (Swinglehurst) has brought him (Jon Shaw) down for the penalty, so a little bit nonsensical the goals, but there you are.
JP
Are you able to take any broader positives out of the game? Anyone stand out to you at all?
GA
Erm, we couldn't pass the ball so you couldn't work it from back to front, we ended up having to go long to miss the middle bit out because it was all puddles and stuff. So, I am not going to be too critical of people, I am not going to be throwing loads of praise around, it just wasn't a proper game of football.
JP
No, not really. Andy Welsh did manage to put in a few decent little moves out on the wide left in those forward positions, is that somewhere you see him? Do you see him sort of interchanging with the other strikers rather than sticking out in one wide position?
GA
Yeah, again it is a role where we don't want to pigeon hole anybody just yet. We are just having a look at a lot of different things, that is why the friendly games gives us a chance to look at players and look at players in different positions, and today because we couldn't really pass the ball it has not given us a real......... It has been a waste of a viewing game for us as a staff to look at what they can and can't do. But, what they need to do to be fair is to be a little bit more determined when we lose the ball. Because, to be fair if this had been a proper game Gateshead would have won it I think. So, that is something that you have to think about even though the conditions weren't great, maybe in a league game they wouldn't have played it to be honest, but both teams wanted to play and we wanted to carry on even at 2-0 down. We wanted to carry the game through but it just wouldn't run anywhere.
JP
Your trialist in there Stuart Green obviously virtually got no time whatsoever, Lasse Merring-Mikkelsen got a bit of time but in that awful area where all the water was in the middle of the park, will they get Tuesday again to show what they can do?
GA
Yeah, we will have a think about that, I don't know what Lasse's plan is but I will have a chat with him today and then........ It is certainly unfair to judge him on that, judge anybody on that, so we will have a think about that one and see where we go.
JP
And quite a tough game for Steven Swinglehurst against some impressive players, they look like they are going to have a decent shout in Blue Square Premier this year?
GA
Yeah, strong you see, this is great, this is where our players that aren't playing that sometimes, and I spoke to Ian (Bogie - Gateshead manager) that they need to play because this is tough, real football and they are men, they are strong, strong men and a lot of them have had careers in the game and know the game and are hardened professionals you know, ex-professionals or former professionals. But, you don't get any easy games at the top end of the Conference and I think that is where these will be.
JP
And Barrow are going to be playing against these next season, how tough a proposition could they be on the evidence of what you have seen today?
GA
Well, tough, but it is difficult because the pitch brings everybody together doesn't it, if you can't move the ball along the grass everybody becomes together. But, they have certainly got enough quality and enough toughness in their team to cause anybody problems, nobody will want to come to the north-east of England and think they are going to get three points easy at any level, but the Conference will be no different.
JP
What will you do now because I am sure you wanted this game to try to step that fitness up that extra bit of a level, what do you do now? What do you change ahead of the Morecambe game?
GA
Nothing, we just work Monday, we just work Monday as we would have done, it is very, very easy to catch up half a game of football over the next four weeks, that is not a major problem at all. We will just train hard on Monday and then we will get a good competitive game at Morecambe, that will be tough and no tougher than this I would add. But, that is it, we will just continue our work from there.
JP
But, you have suggested you might have been stepping it up, some players up to the hour maybe and then 70 minutes at Morecambe, will that still be the case or will you change your mind on that now after today?
GA
Erm, well some of them had 45 minutes so maybe the ones that haven't had 45 might do a bit more, I don't know, we will have a think about it. Just probably we will have to come back a step now because we have lost the game so it might still be 45 minutes, but we will just see who needs what and what sort of state they are in and we will go from there.