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JP
How do you feel about that one today?
GA
I feel alright, I feel like we are making headway into the way we want to play and the style of football we want to play. That has been a nice test for us today and we have kept a clean sheet, which is important, and we have played some decent stuff at times which is good too.
So, we are pleased, we know there is a lot of work to do this week and in the weeks ahead of us to get off to a good start this season. But the signs are that we are OK right now, and there are still areas of the pitch and areas of our play we would like to improve on.
JP
James Chester, how did that deal come about, such as it is at the moment, because it is still to entirely go through?
GA
We have just got to see what we can do tomorrow with him. He has done ever so well today I think, he has defended very well and he looks a decent player. He is composed around it, he is a bit like Ian (Harte), we will see tomorrow, hopefully we can conclude that tomorrow and bring him into the club to help us with our start to the season.
JP
He clearly looks an excellent player, would you be happy enough with the level of height in the back four though with him? Because he is another one like Ian Harte who is only I think 5'11, he is not the biggest when you come up against some of the big brutes in League One.
GA
No, I know he is not, but he is very good in the air, Ian is good in the air, their timing is very good. On the floor he has got good pace and not all the best centre-halves in the world are 6'5. What you might have is somebody really dominant in the air but maybe a little bit not so clever on the floor.
But he is a decent footballer and he is a good defender, he wants to go and head the ball and let's see how he gets on, but I thought he was excellent today. He didn't lose many headers today, he has got good spring for somebody who is only 5'11, I think that is very important.
JP
The ultimate compliment to him as well, he almost out Ian-Harted Ian Harte at times at the back with the way he read the game. The amount of times I said 'Chester intercepts' - I just lost count.
GA
Well, maybe if James was 6'3 and had all the attributes he has got, plus he is 6'3 then he might be in Manchester United's first team ahead of Rio Ferdinand because he does look a good footballer. So, maybe that is the one thing that might stop him going all the way to the top of the game. But, who knows, if he can find a way of dealing with that then he can be a very, very good player, and he certainly did today.
JP
Before we talk more broadly about the game, the four trialists who you have allowed to leave, you are happy with what you saw but at the moment you perhaps didn't feel they would bring anything else?
GA
Yeah, I mean we are nearly full with the players we have got in in terms of the size of the squad. But I have got to leave a little bit of room for somebody that is going to be much, much better than we have got. I didn't feel that the trialists we had did that, so it is a no and we keep looking and keep those spaces available just incase somebody else comes along.
JP
You know I have ask to now, nearly full, does that mean you are still looking for one area in particular?
GA
No, I am not looking for anything at the minute, what I am looking at is if ever a player did become available that I think might improve us then I would look at it and I would try to do something about it.
JP
One of, plenty of tough decisions in your job, but one of the tougher decisions for next weekend now is who makes it and who doesn't make it?
GA
The toughest, I think as you have seen today everybody has had a right go through the pre-season programme. There has not been much of it, there have been bits and pieces I haven't been pleased with at all but the majority of the training and the majority of the games we have been happy with them.
We have got a group of players that want to stay together, all want to play and there will be some unhappy bunnies next week. But we have to make those decisions and hopefully we get it right, we get three points and everybody at some point plays a part in what we hope is a successful season.
JP
What does the final five days of preparation in your pre-season comprise of now then?
GA
Just really concreteing everything down that we have done from day one, the principles we have set about, the style of play. We didn't do any set-pieces today that we might use next week, so there are some there that might interest people. Nothing that we have got planned that is going to take us forward has been shown in our hand in the pre-season friendlies, so we hope we can be even better than that next week and get off to a really bright start.
JP
It almost sounds churlish, given that you have just beaten a Premier League side in Hibernian today, but 3-0 didn't flatter you against Darlington and I almost feel it wouldn't have flattered you today. Do you just think you need to get one or two more chances in the penalty area?
GA
Yeah, that is probably one of the areas where we think we really, really have to show people that we really want to score goals. Craig Curran, Jason Price, Gary Madine, Francois (Zoko), they have got to go in, and the two wide players (Kevan Hurst and Matty Robson) with a real belief that they can score goals.
I felt at times that our determination in the final third was maybe just a tad down on what it might be, and that is an area where we will work on as well as the other areas during the week and stress it to the boys. To be fair, Gary Madine has done ever so well in his hour on the pitch, bar score a goal, and so has Jason, Craig and Francois, but we want goals from them don't we.
JP
We must always talk about Francois until I guess the novelty of him wears off, and let's hope it never does, another fine performance though from him, and he just seems to have won the crowd over before he has even kicked a ball competitively?
GA
Well, we have had a good chat in his broken English and my broken French, we have a good chat about the culture in England and the culture in Carlisle. Different places have different demands, and I have told him what I think makes the Carlisle fans tick, and that is to show full commitment, to show enthusiasm, to show brightness with the ball and intelligence in your play, and an overall terrific work ethic.
Then if you do get your clap you must appreciate what the fans give you too, and I think he makes that work today and I think the fans have bought into him and he has bought into the fans, and he is off to a good start.
JP
And on Ian Harte, you had six more decent chances today, of which three of them went to Ian Harte again, has he got a target to try to beat his 19 goals this season?
GA
No, he hasn't at all, we want goals through the team, I am not bothered where the goals come from, if Ian gets another 19 or 20 then it is happy days, it would be absolutely fantastic. But, he is a threat from set-pieces, whether he be on the end of a corner or whether it is one of his free-kicks or penalties.
So, he is going to get his fair share of goals but he is very difficult to mark, he is elusive in the box, he is a clever player, he is good in the air and he attacks the ball and he has got his goal again today.
JP
Finally, a decent crowd today for a wet Sunday afternoon friendly with the season just around the corner, you really want those fans to come on and see what you are trying to do I think would be the way you would put it?
GA
Well, I think money is tight to be honest, I think there are people on holiday, money is tight. I think people are hopefully looking at seeing how we are faring up, hopefully the word gets round that we are playing some decent football, we are trying to get the fans to believe in what we are doing.
We need them next week absolutely massively, I want 8,000 or 9,000, I know there probably won't be but if we could get that amount of people in the gate, certainly set a target of maybe touching 7,000. We would be absolutely ecstatic to have them here, and try to play and show the type of football that they want to see and try to improve on what we did last year. That is all we can say as a football club.
JP
And you need the fans, you need to do it with them together?
GA
We are all together, everybody, listen a football club, and that is why a lot of clubs are called United, is a united group. It is everybody working together, and that is the press, it is the fans, it is the board, it is the players, it is the management staff, and if we have got that then you have a really, really good chance of achieving.