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" I am drained to be honest, absolutely drained. I am delighted for the fans, delighted for the people that run this football club and I am delighted for my players that have put in a fantastic effort to get the victory that gave us a chance. Leeds United, God bless them, have done us a favour, I knew that they would do because I had two or three players ringing me last night saying that they were going to do it. I had two or three members of their staff telling me that they were going to have a right go at it.
" 35,000 people in there wouldn't let them do any different and they have done their bit, we have done our bit and the football club survived. Which would not have been a complete disaster but it wouldn't have been nice, it would have been horrible for everybody concerned that we shouldn't really have got relegated. Fair play to everybody though, they have dug deep today and they have all been rewarded.
" Have we saved the best until last? I think that we probably near enough have, because I thought that actually we won the game quite well. I know that they hit the bar but we had a lot of chances and attacking play and good play. I thought that we were the better side today and we have won the game really well, which is really pleasing as well as the importance of the fact that we have won 2-0. You would have taken a scrappy 1-0 wouldn't you just to have given us a fighting chance but we won the game nicely, which is a double whammy bonus for everybody.
" Both players (Graham Kavanagh and Paul Thirlwell) have got great quality haven't they in different ways. Thirs showed that from the edge of the box, when he gets himself on the back of play supporting from behind that he can be a threat as a goalscorer. I think that he has scored four or five goals this season which I don't think that he has scored that in his career. So brilliant, he is my club captain, he is a phenomenal player, he is terrific to have around the club. "
" Kav, who is helping on the coaching side has popped up, he has given a performance full of energy and endeavour and enthusiasm like you hope an 18-year old would starting his career. He has smashed in a 25-yarder where the keeper (David Forde) has never sniffed it, so two brilliant goals. The whole thing is a nice day for Carlisle United today.
" There are a lot of lessons that have got to be learned, am I elated?, am I overjoyed?, sort of yes, sort of thinking why are we in this situation, we need to learn from some of the things that have happened and some of the reasons why are at the bottom. I need to try to dissect it all and that is my job and I am not over-pleased with why we have ended up in this situation. I am pleased though that we have dug deep in terms of the grumbles, the criticisms and the things labelled at us.
" I don't think that we are a million miles off being a good side, I absolutely don't think that we are a million miles off being a good side. We have just beaten a team that might go up here today and we have beaten them off a level playing field. They played a strong side, they played with lots of energy and determination, there was no way that they were going to come here and give us an easy ride. We have been comfortably better than them and that is a really good sign for next year.
" In one way I am elated for everybody but I am now conscience of the fact that we have got to make sure that we hit the ground running next season. We come back bigger, fitter, stronger, braver, with more quality and I don't want to be in this situation ever again in my life. I have learned lessons and looked at things and seen things take shape that I don't like. We will rectify those things and put them right and I already, this past four to six weeks, we have been terrific in training. "
" We have a good facility to work on, we have used the pitch more often than not and that is an important factor in the development of the players and the way that we want to do things. We will be doing more of that over the summer and more thinking, well this is what we need to do, this is how we want to run the club, and hopefully we will have a much more successful season than we have had now.
" Both goalmouths have been the problem, I absolutely believe that in both goalmouths we haven't been good enough in both areas of the field. We have not defended well enough at times and we have not scored enough goals. We have created loads of chances, an abundance, an unbelievable amount of chances but we have not put the ball in the back of the net and that is paramount.
" You must score when you are on top and you must defend better than we have done when we come up against it. We haven't won enough games 1-0 and we haven't kept clean sheets, we haven't nicked games when we have played poorly. When we play poorly we get beat and good teams take a draw and sometimes nick a game 1-0, we have had none of those all season.
" I am going to take stock of this at the moment, I have got a board meeting on Thursday with the guys and I am going to speak to them on the coming Monday and talk with them all day on Monday. I will talk to them all day on Tuesday and we will speak to the players concerned with contracts on Tuesday, we are going to see what we do with them and then we will see what we have got left. "
" Then we are going to see what money is available, they will give me a figure by the end of the week and then I will work around that. At the minute I have got to take the lid off this and digest it and spend some real quality time with people that have been very supportive of me. I am talking about my family who have been unbelievable with me, my middle lad, he was really reluctant to come because of all the criticism aimed at his Dad.
" That happens in football and I told him that you have got to live through that, I have become a lot tougher as well with it all. That will make us all better but I need to just spend a bit of time with them over the next two to three days and give them some time because I have gone home not a happy bunny over the last few weekends.
" I am not going to go out tonight, I will go home tonight and I will decelerate, I will tell you now, because this has been a monumental effort from the staff and the players and everybody concerned at this football club. To make sure that we gave ourselves the chance to stay in this division, and we have done it and I am going to take a pat on the back for that at the moment.
" To be honest we have done well at the big clubs, we have done well on the big occasions. I really honestly believe that we are not a million miles off being a good side. We have got to put it all together and start the season firing and maintain that level of performance and just see where it takes us. We have to take the lid off it at the moment though, just put it to bed for a couple of days and then work starts on making sure that we are not in this situation again. "
" I am not being funny but I have had bundles of support from the fans. It has been amazing when I go out to Tesco and when I go and have a quiet pint, that the people are there. They look you in the eye and say that we have had a bit of bad luck there, we have had an injury here, we have missed a chance there, we have conceded a soft goal there. Keep doing what you are doing, we believe in you and some of the support has been terrific.
" I know that we will have doubters and criticisms, that happens at every football club and every manager gets it. Certainly when you are in the situation that we are that our focal point has got to be the board or the manager. I accept that, it is part of the job that I took on and responsibility, I will always take that.
" I will be brave, I have taken the criticisms right on my shoulders and I am really, really pleased for the four people that run this football club. That they can go out tonight and enjoy their evening, they are local businessman, they have been dead straightforward with what they have told the public and they deserve a pat on the back as well. Like David (Allen) said, if anybody out there wants to make it better then go and help them, go and shovel some money in.
" As a group of fans, come down more often like you were today and support us and see the excitement that can be created. You want these days day in and day out, next season you want more of these. If everybody follows the club and backs the club then it will make the job easier for the four people that run it. It will make my job easier and we can all work together, it is a collective effort, it is not just four people and a manager, it is the whole of Carlisle sticking together to try to take the thing forward.
" I am enjoying this little bit now today because things have been tough but I want to be sitting here next season talking to you about the strides that we have made in progress. Let's see if we can do that, I have got to look forward with optimism, I am a really emotional passionate guy with a lot of drive and determination. That has got to spread through to the players and today you have seen a terrific performance, and I am proud of every one of them. "