United boss Greg Abbott (GA) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) following Carlisle's 1-1 League One draw at home to Preston, Abbott saying the Blues are looking to see the season out properly:
JP
Everyone is now able to look forward to next season after finishing this season off, is that your feeling after keeping your unbeaten run going?
GA
We want to stay unbeaten, the season is not finished yet, we have got two games to go and we have talked about doing things correctly and seeing the season out properly. We owe that to the supporters, there have been too many occasions where we haven’t reached the standards we are looking at. We have had a terrific run and we have probably had an improved second part of the season, so we need to finish this one first before anybody starts thinking about the next one.
JP
A tremendous game today, I am sure you would have liked to have got the win out of it, but a tremendous game of football for the fans to enjoy, and they clearly did?
GA
Yeah, I mean we have played some terrific stuff lately, I didn’t think today we played as well or as fluent as we have been. But, the extra man in midfield enables us to pass the ball and when supporters are looking for this system and that system sometimes you have to sacrifice an element of attractive play.
The 4-4-2 is the old fashioned English way were it is gung-ho and you get the ball wide and you pump it in the box, you go from back to front quicker than you would do because you have not got an extra man to play through the middle of the pitch and it doesn’t sometimes look quite as fluent. So, you have to look at that and certainly when you are playing the way we did today you have to get quality from wide areas, and I don’t think we quite got enough in for the centre-forwards to go after.
But, for excitement and a local derby there was that going for it, but we wanted to win the game, and I am sitting here quite disappointed to be honest that we haven’t notched another win. But, that is it, we are setting decent standards and we are, like I said, looking to finish the season off properly and then we can start thinking about what comes after that.
JP
I am sure you would have liked that win but the fact that you were pushing so hard for it at the end, after to be fair to them, Preston came out very well and for the first spell of the game they were really taking the game to you, that must be pleasing that at the end of that despite going behind you were the team looking for the three points?
GA
Yeah, I mean the wind played a bit of a part, it was quite breezy out there and going downhill to the Waterworks End it looked like it was a bit easier. They had their head of steam in the first 20-25 minutes, I thought we coped quite well with it in the last bit of the first-half and then we carried that on second-half.
But, we huffed and we puffed and we got the ball in and around the box, and we just couldn’t quite get that bit of the ball, and then we had the little bit of a thing at the end. But, yeah, it would have been nice to win the game, listen, I can’t be critical of the effort and the way that the players are finishing the season.
Because, there were question marks aimed at them and me and everybody else but we are starting to quell that a little bit and people are looking forward and thinking that the basis of a decent squad is there. I genuinely believe the basis of a good team is there, if we can add to that and quietly pick in one or two players who will give us maybe a little bit extra pace and a little bit of extra inventiveness if you like, that type of player, then I think we could be a real handful.
JP
Paul Thirlwell, I think it was probably quite clear that he might be out, with less than a fortnight of the season, just two games left, any chance that we will see your big man again?
GA
Big man? Which big man?
JP
Well, I was going to say your captain, but of course he is not that these days, so I stumbled there.
GA
He is only 5’7.
JP
Alright, are we going to see Paul Thirlwell again?
GA
Right, that is better, give us a chance, give me a clue, my big man, I am thinking about Mathieu Manset and I am thinking about Lee Miller and I am thinking about Mark Beck. Yeah, I don’t know, I don’t know, like I said, he has got a calf strain at the minute so if he is fit he is fit and he gives me a problem in terms of selection. But, I have not even given Paul a thought at the minute because he has not been on the training ground, but I can probably tell you better that on Thursday or Friday next week.
JP
I think you caught everyone a little bit out with Rory Loy being the man in there, Danny Cadamarteri had come off the bench recently, Mathieu Manset as well had, what was your thinking there?
GA
Rory needs an opportunity and he needs to show us what he can do. Danny is here next year already, he has got a contract for next year, Manny we need to see bits of Manny, but I have got to be sort of reasonably loyal to Rory who has been here for a couple of years as well. He has scored us two or three goals before he had the little break out of the team, so I felt that it was only fair that he had an opportunity to go in his best position, it is his favourite position, alongside Lee Miller. So, I thought that was me showing him a bit of respect and a little bit of loyalty.
JP
And how did you assess him then if it was a bit of an opportunity for him to impress?
GA
Yeah, it was and I thought he looked lively in the game. Was he outstanding? No. Was he poor? No. But, he certainly looked lively and he is bright and he thrives on the service that we get. I don’t think at times today the service into the front two was as good as it maybe could have been, so it is harsh to criticise anybody for not scoring when we didn’t exactly give them loads of quality crossing from the wide areas to go at.
JP
And it seemed actually when he perhaps knew his number was up that it almost looked like he was going to score the goal of the season?
GA
Yeah, I mean if he had scored that I probably would have kept him for another 30 seconds. Nah, it was just one of those things, but that is what Rory can give you from that wide area, but we think his favoured position is more central and that is why he did that.
JP
Your hand was forced in terms of rebuilding with one player’s contract and you had to resolve the situation with Sean O’Hanlon, what great news is it for the club to have him tied down for two years?
GA
Oh, I think you have seen that out there today, like I said, I still was keeping asking you and Jon Colman for the stats because I haven’t worked them out myself yet since he has been in how much improved we have been defensively. I think games like this earlier on in the season we might have got beaten, we didn’t ever for me today look like we were going to get beaten.
Even when we went a goal down I thought we are not going to concede and we are not going to get beat, we are going to get something out of the game. I think he has played a massive part in that mind-set or for giving me that mind-set, and I think we have looked a lot tougher defensively and I think he has been a big player in that. I think he will be a big leader and a big player for us next season.
JP
Three quarters of a goal a game less since he has been in?
GA
Well, thanks for doing that homework for me, basically I have been a bit lazy by not doing it myself but I was hoping that you would you come out and say it. I have shamed you into doing it, well done.
JP
Stole it off Andy Hall.
GA
No, listen, it is one we have talked about isn’t it and it is an interesting one. We thought that would be the case and he has proved that, but he has been very, very good since he has been here. I think we have seen the best of Danny Livesey for possibly two or three years since Sean has been here.
JP
A career partnership, another man who has impressed in there, we have talked about this I know in the build-up to this week, but Jordan Mustoe, contract up with Wigan, he really is playing well at a very crucial time in his career?
GA
Yeah, and like I said, next year whatever happens to Jordan he needs game and he needs pitch-time every week because he has got to age now, I think he is just 22 and you should be playing regular football if you are having a career at that age. He has come here and he has got that and I am sure somewhere he will be playing regular football next season.
JP
Is there an opportunity it could be here, because is Chris Chantler now seen as a left-back rather than a central midfield option. I know he has played all of this season in that role when he has been fit, is there not a way you could find a space for him?
GA
Who?
JP
For Jordan Mustoe?
GA
Erm, possibly. But, Chris Chantler, it is only just before his injury we were talking about Chris Chantler as being the best left-back in the division at the particular time that he got injured, he was absolutely outstanding. So, what we can’t do with Jordan and what Jordan can’t do is come and play second fiddle. Now, I am not saying he would because he would compete with Chants, but Chants was doing very, very well before he got injured. So, it is something that is in my mind and he has certainly done well for us but where he goes after this, that is for later on.
JP
Another big win for Bournemouth today, you go there, that is a tough ask, if you are going to finish this season unbeaten as you want to, it is going to have to take a huge performance there from you?
GA
Yeah, but we did it at Sheffield United and we did at Oldham and we did it at Doncaster, now I don’t think anybody would have given us a few quid on us staying unbeaten. So, sometimes in these situations strange things happen, but we have set a standard haven’t we and all we want to do is finish the season properly and try to make life really, really uncomfortable for Bournemouth. I am not guaranteeing we will win, lose or draw but we want to go down there and finish the season off properly. We owe that to everybody.
JP
And what about the fans today, the crowd was up, helped by the Preston fans here, but they seemed to have fun with each other and they all seemed to enjoy the game as well?
GA
You want to walk down the Warwick Road and see if they are still having fun with each other, I doubt it. Bu, no, listen, that is what we want, we want 8,000 and 9,000 and 10,000 in at Brunton Park and that would then give us……….. There are so many plusses for us to have that situation, but we are working towards that and hopefully they have seen us end the season pretty well and pretty decent and we can get off to a good start and that is what brings fans in, results basically. But, we will be fighting to improve everything and make sure those numbers come back.