United boss Greg Abbott (GA) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) following Carlisle's 1-1 League One opening day draw away to Stevenage, Abbott saying that the Blues are slightly disappointed with a point after the home side equalised in the 88th minute:
JP
Your first ever point here at Stevenage, happy with that or did you think you were going to get the three in the end?
GA
With the way the game has gone we are probably disappointed a little bit, but immensely pleased with the players, the fitness levels especially in the heat, we have not come across this type of heat have we up in Cumbria, it has not been that warm. Down here they are probably a bit more used to it and it was a really hot day, and to be fair both sets of players, neither flagged and neither gave an inch.
They fought out a hard point, an important point, everything you get early on is important and we are just a bit annoyed that we seemed to be in control of the game when we went 1-0 up, and then certainly after it. But, it is such a soft goal to concede when I think we had possession down here and we lose it too cheap, but those things happen. A lot of plusses out there today, a lot of positives for the team and we are going to come back unbeaten.
JP
What about the quality of the goal that you scored as well and Danny Cadamarteri very much involved in the build-up for it?
GA
Yeah, I thought Danny's half an hour was absolutely excellent, he looked really, really lively, he looked an absolute nuisance, and if we can keep him fit and he can keep showing that energy and that power and pace that he has got then he is going to be an handful.
He certainly helps the way we play and we had it in mind with one eye on it that if anything did happen to Lee (Miller) he could do that role in a different way by getting the ball into and around his feet, but he is certainly no mean feat in the air. The finish from Matty (Robson) was a wonderful finish, something that he does and he does it well, and that is him two in two, so a good start for him.
JP
As well, Lee Miller of course had to come off because Danny Cadamarteri came on, but because of an injury, what is the situation?
GA
Yeah, he has shaken his ankle up, first impressions are that I don't think that it is that bad, but he was struggling to move, no chances, there is a game Tuesday, there is a game Saturday, loads of games coming up. So, we brought him off, hopefully it will settle down, a worry but it didn't look that bad, at least he carried on and it wasn't one that it was straight off and something was diagnosed that was more serious. But, we will have to wait and see.
JP
Fairly innocuous wasn't it, just in a tackle, did he just catch his studs?
GA
I didn't think it was innocuous, I thought it was a crude tackle, a really poor challenge from where I was. I thought he has nicked the ball away and he (Greg Tansey) has come and smashed him through, similar to the Ben Marshall one actually at Wembley, I thought it was an awful tackle.
JP
Not innocuous at all then?
GA
Not from where I was, but you see it from up here, you have probably got a better view than me. But, I thought the pace that Lee, talking about Lee with pace here, he just nicked the ball away from him, and I think it was an accident but I think the lad tried to get the ball but Lee just poked it and took a real smack on the side of his ankle, and I think the boy landed on him as well. So, that was probably where some of the damage has been done as well, maybe accidental but it still looked a bit untidy to me.
JP
Not a great tackle in your view. What about the fact that you have come here and you came within six minutes I think, including stoppage time, of beating a team who haven't lost here since the 2nd of January?
GA
Well, Danny Livesey has just shouted up that that is one point better off than last year because we got beat didn't we, and it is right. But, we have got just a little tinge of disappointment that we didn't see the job through when we looked in control. But, listen, if that is the record they have got then it is a terrific point, it is a very, very tough place to come, they were in the play-offs only two months ago so we have got to sort of take heart that we have come and more than matched them.
We confined them really to corners and set-pieces, they didn't really open us up or us give them an easy path to the goal, I thought we defended terrifically well and kept them away from our goal apart from set-pieces.
JP
I have to ask you about their goal, a fierce shot in from (Lucas) Akins, should Adam Collin have done a bit better or was it just one of those that came in so fast?
GA
Well, the ball has moved all over the place and it was a fierce shot, and it has just dropped at his (Robin Shroot's) feet and maybe the lad was in an offside position to be fair when he has tapped it in. But, he is Johnny on the spot, he has rolled it in, that is what it is all about and you rue your bit of tough luck. But, I think Adam would catch six or seven of them out of ten, but the balls these days, they move all over and we have got done with one, but that is where we are.
JP
You are being linked, moving on to other things, with a striker and we know that you are talking to a striker at the moment, where is that situation at the moment?
GA
It is not the right time to be talking about other things, I am always trying to improve the squad and I think we need that type, and I will continue to do that. There is nothing imminent at the minute, things that I was talking about the other day have dried up through no fault of our own I have to add and certainly no fault of our club. Hopefully we will revisit that before Tuesday and try to do something, if we can great, if we can't we will keep trying.
JP
There is a report coming from the London end that it is this lad from Arsenal, Sanchez Watt, is there anything that you can confirm or deny that at this stage?
GA
No, I don't know where all these things come from you know. We always keep our business in house until it's done, so I think we keep that as it is.
JP
I quite understand that, if there is a longer term injury to Lee Miller will that push you into another direction that you need to go?
GA
Well, we have got options, we have got Mark Beck, we have got Danny Cadamarteri, we need another striker so that has always been the situation. But, I don't think Lee's is a long-term thing so we will have a look and let the dust settle and then we will revisit that part of the thing on Monday. We should be probably talking about the game here, but we are trying all the time to make sure the squad can carry knocks through games at every point during the season.
JP
And you have started the season with a point, how happy are you to get underway in this sort of fashion?
GA
Just a little tinge of disappointment because of the goal late on, but listen, we would have probably at the start of the game said if we were coming away unbeaten we would be OK.
Tranmere now on Tuesday, Ronnie (Moore) has always got competitive teams and they are organised again and they have got solid players, they have got tried and tested players. It is difficult to say who is going to struggle and who is not at this particular stage, it is a five game thing, you will probably get a feel after the first five or six games.