United boss Greg Abbott (GA) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) following Carlisle's 2-1 League One win away to MK Dons, Abbott saying that these kinds of wins give you a fighting chance :
JP
Everyone has gone mad, how did you go down on the touchline there?
GA
You have seen it I think, you have seen it. As a manager I don't know, you need these types of games and they probably give you a message that you have got a fighting chance, you have got a fighting chance. Because, things went our way and they didn't go our way and then they went our way, and this is unbelievable. You look around and it is an unbelievable place, an absolutely top team that we have played, great people round here by the way, they looked after us brilliantly from what happened before.
We have got to go and be humble now and we are happy with our victory but be humble in the way we speak to their people because they will be upset. It is an important time of the season for them, but just a massive, massive amount of credit to our fans and our players and our staff and everybody that has travelled down as part of our group.
An absolutely fantastic night for us and a platform to kick on and try to grab that little spot that we have been chasing, and people have been saying that we should or we shouldn't be getting there, but tonight we have taken on a good side and after the first............. I didn't think we were very good in the first-half, I thought we could be better, we made a few changes and I think we asked MK Dons a lot of questions after that.
JP
Their chairman (Pete Winkelman) shook the hand of every one of your players coming off, a class act?
GA
Top man, he is a really, really good guy. He was really humble a few weeks back and he has looked after us here, and they are good people here let me tell you that. Sometimes in football a little bit of respect and they have shown us a lot of respect tonight and we have to honour that and be humble in the way we accept the victory. But, listen, I hope and I pray that we see these again sometime this season, and you know what I mean.
JP
I know exactly what you mean, Lee Miller, so reliable, missed the penalty, then they got one, what were you going through at that stage?
GA
Erm, well you are looking at why you are going to come away from a game without anything. But, we have got one non-stop trier in our team haven't we, if you look at Liam Noble tonight, there is the effort and the energy and he is instrumental in the first goal, it is an unbelievable bit of skill, he didn't even touch the ball.
I was told I was a good player without the ball so nobody gave it to me, but he has made something happen without doing anything to the ball, his step-over was fantastic, and Cooky (Jordan Cook) with a great finish, a great finish. It is his night really isn't it, he has come off the bench and he has been really down and disappointed with events at Sunderland but he has come back to us and he likes us, he likes the way we do things and he is a hero, he is a hero in football tonight.
JP
That bit of play for the equaliser was arguably the goal of the season so far, it was just wonderful?
GA
Yeah, I mean we have been scoring some good goals haven't we just lately and it is nice when Lee is not firing and misses his penalty that we have found someone else that can come on and find the goals. We have found them tonight and tremendous for us.
JP
And the second goal, another wonderful bit of skill from Jordan Cook to win the penalty, it seemed the referee (Mark Heywood) almost didn't want to give it but the assistant refeee (Alexandra Ihringova) made his mind up?
GA
No, I think the referee was giving it, he was wondering whether it was inside or outside the box, that was the only problem. He was going to give a foul I think, but we got the bit of luck that we deserved and the bit of luck that we need at this type of club we need to see us through to the end. Hopefully we will get a bit more on Saturday and we will get a bit more in the other seven games and we are where we are tonight.
JP
When the attendance got read out this evening on the Public Address I think there was applause from the MK Dons for the Carlisle fans, 600 on a Tuesday night?
GA
Yeah, it is magnificent and it is great to see respect between supporters. Like I say, we have had an enjoyable day and the way they treated us, our fans, our players and our staff has been fantastic. For me, I am a competitor, I am as competitive as they come, it is how football should be done, war through for 90 minutes but respect before and after in terms of how you appreciate the players and the fans, it was awesome tonight and I love that.
JP
How crucial could be a big crowd at Brunton Park be against another of the biggest and the best (Huddersfield) on Saturday?
GA
Erm, it is just a great game to look forward to now, people say we never have boring end of season scenarios and it looks like we are not going to have this season. So, listen, we have had some plaudits tonight and we will get some credit tonight, but we need to go again on Saturday against a massive side who have got an unbelievable amount of resources compared to us. But, we have got some big hearts out there, we will go again and we will see if we can turn them over also.
JP
Just six points behind MK Dons with a game in hand?
GA
Amazing, listen, well, are we out of the automatic run yet?
JP
Maybe just. In terms of the play-off spot though, Stevenage were 2-0 down but have managed to draw and that means that you are three points clear, although their goal difference is still a big factor, but each point counting at the moment?
GA
Everything counts at the minute, you can start looking round a little bit now, let's get four more games out of our way and let's see where we are. Listen, if we can keep maintaining our form, we said March was a really tough month and I don't think we have been beaten in five or six games. So, we have done very, very well, we have got a big job to keep it going and keep everyone's heads right and everyone's feet on the ground and everybody doing the right things. Just keep doing what we are doing and that is show the great attitude and determination that we have for most of the season.
JP
Any problematic knocks picked up tonight?
GA
I just think that me, Kav (Graham Kavanagh) and Caigy (Tony Caig) and Dolly (Neil Dalton) are all absolutely beaten and battered. The lads are alright, they are fine I think.
JP
And I must ask what did it feel like to go over and celebrate in front of your fans after a night like that?
GA
Well, away trips are good and we have had a bit of a raw deal haven't we, we have picked up a little bit in the last couple, but we have not been as good as we have needed to be. They are great on the night times and fans travelling and the appreciation that you get and the respect that you get both ways. It is terrific and another nice night to be a manager, but that can change pretty quickly. But, let's hope if we have another four or five nice nights then we might just get where we need to be.