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JP
How have you lost that one today?
GA
Erm, that is why I have been so long, I have just been asking the players. You only get so many opportunities in a season and we thought that this was an opportunity today. You know how careful points are, you know how vital points are and we really think that our overall play - we should be sitting here winning the game, even though we have had two penalties against us.
Over the balance of it we would think we would probably come up with something out of it, although maybe not the win. Fair play to Tranmere, we told them they would have guts, they would have determination and they had no little of that.
They certainly showed us that in abundance and the disappointing thing was with the share of possession we had and with the ball we had and the situations we created through the game that we haven't done better. I am not stood here talking about a draw or a win, I am talking about a loss and that hurts, that really does hurt.
JP
What was disappointing about the goals you conceded?
GA
Well, obviously the first one we have failed to stop a cross going in, but we deal with it and I think James (Berrett) misplaced his pass or misplaced his clearance. (Ian) Goodison has just swung a left foot at it and I am not being funny but he will not do that again, he does it every now and again, it happens, a great strike and I am not taking anything away from him. But, he is not the sort of player I would say will do that week in and week out.
Then we get the equaliser, which we think we probably deserve, and then we are far too open. We are trying to win the game before we have even settled on the equaliser, we have left too many gaps at the back and it has been exploited. All of a sudden we find ourselves 2-1 down and fighting to save the game again. You can only fight so much and you only get so many opportunities, and we ran out of them in the end today.
Probably in the end you would think naivety maybe, maybe that is the word, naivety or tiredness or whatever it is. But, I needed to find the words off the players what they thought, why were we so open when we had just got back and fought so hard to get back in the game.
JP
Jon Colman has quite rightly pointed out to us here that Peter Murphy has been excellent on penalties in penalty shootouts today. Why, when he has just come back into the team though, why was he the man to take the spot-kick today?
GA
Erm, you would have to ask Peter that, James Berrett is the penalty taker and I don't know why James allowed him to take the penalty. But, if it goes in there is a no issue, but it didn't go in so there is an issue, and James Berrett is the penalty taker so I don't know why Murph took the ball off him.
But, that is something we have addressed after the game and Murph said what he had to say and the top and bottom of it is there is no argument, the ball missed. If you are going to take it you score, it is as simple as that, and he didn't score so he takes a few criticisms for that, but that is life.
JP
Before the wonder goal as it was from Goodison though you created so many opportunities, how disappointed were you not to take one of those?
GA
Very, very, the key is scoring, sometimes we will probably have games where we don't have as much play as this and score more goals and win games, that is football. The rules don't change do they, you have to score and we are really upset, because like I said, the league and the season will only give you so many opportunities.
We thought it was a terrific opportunity, we thought the approach and the attitude was fantastic, the work-ethic was great, a lot of the play was decent. We haven't managed to put the ball in the net and that is the key, and like I said, the rules will never change in this game. If you don't score you don't win and if you concede you lose, and I don't want to be black and white but that is the key, and that has been proved the case today.
JP
On not getting a lead though in the game and going behind, some fans have questioned why Francois Zoko didn't start today after him scoring three goals in four games, what was your thinking behind that?
GA
Well, Craig (Curran) did ever so well didn't he on Saturday and Francois has scored. But, if people have followed the season home and away they will have seen some of the away games where we lose Francois sometimes in this type of game. He has had a knee injury, he has been the same as Paul Thirlwell, he has been carrying a problem and has not trained or done a lot of training.
He got half an hour under his belt which was terrific on Saturday, the type of game we expected from Tranmere where they don't play a great deal of football, they move the ball quickly back to front. You can sometimes lose a player like Francois and we wanted Craig to put them under pressure.
So, there is an argument for and there is an argument against, listen, we have lost the game so people are entitled to say that you should have done this or you should have done that. But, there are arguments in every situation.
JP
Some fans have argued with me today because I said I thought that it was a great point in the circumstances against Huddersfield. But, the same sort of fans are also now saying it is just two wins in ten games, is that a bit of a concern for you?
GA
It will be a lot of a concern, the game is all about winning and we are always concerned. But, we think there is a lot of quality, I think we have got as good a group of players since I have been at the club right now. I think, like I said, that the game and the season only throws so many opportunities at you and you have got to take them. At the minute we haven't taken as many as we should have done and then that causes you a problem.
But, I am not going to go too deep into the negative, but am I happy with two in ten? No, I'm not, of course I'm not, I'm moaning with the fans on that. Is there any lack of effort? Is there any lack of trying? Is there any lack of structure to what we are doing? No, there isn't, because today we should have been talking about winning the game and not losing, but we have lost so no excuses, we have lost a game and that makes the situation even harder the next time we take to the league programme.
We want to put it right on Saturday by winning against Torquay, we are going there to win, not to draw or lose, we want to go and win, I can't guarantee that but it will be certainly what we are trying for. Then our next league game we will be looking to win again and two or three wins is a ridiculous situation as it puts you back in the top three or four. So, not desperate but certainly not happy and I agree with it, I am not happy with two in ten either.
JP
What about the transfer window? It has opened up now, James Chester conspicuous in his absence today, what can you tell us about that?
GA
He is going to sign for Hull City tomorrow, which is fantastic news for James and drastic news for us. But, we have played our part in moving a player from sort of reserve team football to a situation which is fantastic for him, and we wish him all the best. He has been brilliant for this football club.
JP
Big work for you now to try to find somebody to plug that gap?
GA
Yep.
JP
How far are you on with that? You always talk about having players ready?
GA
I didn't know until ten o'clock, I didn't know until ten o'clock when Sir Alex (Ferguson) rang me and he praised everything this football club had done for James Chester. So, let's get this result out of the way, I am going to do another day's work, I am straight up to Carlisle now, I will be in the office at eight o'clock tomorrow morning and the work goes on in trying to chase up some of the enquiries we have made incase these situations arose, and that is something I will be doing tomorrow.
JP
One name that the fans have thrown at us today is Joe Garner who has gone back to Nottingham Forest, sent back we are told from Huddersfield. Is he somebody who Carlisle would look at if he were available?
GA
Erm, on £10,000 a week and two goals this season, probably not, but I would love him to come back, but I think Joe has got bigger things to go at. But, again, his record has not been brilliant this year has it, and £10,000 a week is a lot of money.
JP
It certainly is. So, Torquay then ahead of your next league match, you feel that that is an opportunity for you to try to get that confidence back in there?
GA
There is confidence in there, we just need to nail down opportunities and come out on top. I won't let confidence drop, I won't let enthusiasm drop and I won't let energy drop. The dressing room has been told what we thought, they have said what they think, there is an agreement we have reached somewhere along the line. Not always what everybody would like because everybody is (not?) content, but it is there and we have to again. Saturday is our next game and we go again trying to win a game.
JP
If you looking for a silver lining, if the fans going home are thinking of a silver lining, at least you can scotch the argument that Carlisle don't raise themselves for the so-called lesser teams. Because, you have played well today but you just didn't take your chances at the right time?
GA
Yeah, I didn't share that argument anyway. I think that because we have beaten teams like Macclesfield and Crewe and Morecambe and Accrington Stanley in the last few years. So, I don't take to that argument, what we do is we struggle against teams that play a certain way. But, we competed well enough today with Tranmere and I am just disappointed that we haven't turned a performance into a victory.
Usually that happens but we need to be more clinical and find that pass and find that quality in the final third and maybe that is where Francois can come into his own. But, we will look at what we have got, we try to pick the right team all the time and we will try to get it right for Saturday.