United boss Greg Abbott (GA) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) following Carlisle's 3-0 League One win away to Yeovil, Abbott saying that the Blues took all three points convincingly :
JP
You must be absolutely delighted with that?
GA
Yeah, we are pleased, I mean 3-0 is a lovely scoreline wherever you win it but away at Yeovil it is really pleasing to have won convincingly, and I think Terry (Skiverton) will probably agree on the day that we were very strong and played some fantastic football and on another day might have had one or two more. Their keeper (Marek Stech) has been brilliant, I think he was their man of the match which just shows you how good some of the play was today, but we were absolutely delighted with the response of the players.
We have said time and time again before that they are a credit to work with, their attitude and their application. We have our ups and downs but we always get an honest shift out of them, and this is a long, long trip, a long, long travel, and they prepared right and they were excellent yesterday in training. We smelt it coming and this was probably a performance that we have been looking for all season, it was a really good performance.
JP
The best of the season?
GA
Yeah, probably, because I think it was always one you........... On the touchline, we never make it easy for ourselves do we on the touchline, we always felt like we were going to win the game. We were looking for the first goal because we thought at half-time not going in a goal up was a little bit unjust for our performance. But, we thought the sending-off might work against us as well because we were that much in control when we had eleven that sometimes the ten men, when they go down to ten men they get a buzz and a shift from that. But, they didn't, we ended up doing that nicely and we got the goal early in the second-half and it set us on our way and we can enjoy a trip home.
JP
It didn't really change the match too much did it the red card? Certainly people will look at it and think well United got on top after that, but that wasn't the case?
GA
No, we wouldn't have been embarrassed to have been up two or even more at half-time you know, we thought we were well in control, we thought the sending-off might work against us because it sometimes does. The Colchester game when we were playing Colchester and we were a goal down at home, we got a man sent off and ended up winning the game 2-1, and we thought that might be the case where Yeovil might just raise their game. But, we managed to keep the ball from them and pass it quickly and in the end we have put in a really powerful, good performance.
JP
Are we seeing the best of Jon-Paul McGovern these days?
GA
Yeah, I mean I thought the two wide players of the three upfront put in fantastic shifts in different shifts, Rory (Loy) looked a threat all game, and J-P is tidy and doesn't give the ball away too often, sees clever things, and he has got his goal as well. You could go through the whole lot today and there were good performances all round, I don't think anybody was really off their game, and you need to be on top of your game to come down here and get anything. I think this is the first time we have ever got a win since Yeovil have been in the league, so that just shows you how difficult it is, so that is a massive credit to the players.
JP
I do want to talk about Loy as well but just a first time ball from Jon-Paul McGovern, a volleyed first time ball from about 30 yards passed to him into (Liam) Noble's path which Noble couldn't quite gather that could have given United the lead actually means that he was doing certain things that not every player at this club can do. He brings a touch of something different doesn't he?
GA
He is technically very good, he has got great delivery, he sees a pass, he strikes the ball vrey, very well, he is not blessed with genuine pace like Rory but he gives you that he is different. On one side you have got that clever and that good passer, and on the other you have got pace and you have got youth and you have got real determination to try to find a goal, and how Rory has not scored first-half I will never know. But, he is in there kicking his heels, but I think Celtic might have got beaten so that might keep him happy, I know they were getting beat so he was happy before the game started. That might have given him just the boost he needed to play well.
JP
He was superb wasn't he, it is a crime that he didn't get a goal today but he does look close, he doesn't look like one of these strikers who is almost struggling, he just looks like it is going to take a bit of luck?
GA
No, it will happen, it will happen with Rory because again he has got great quality, he finishes, he is a really, really good finisher you know, but it is only a matter of time, well if he keeps producing performances like that we are not too worried about the goals, I know the goals will come for him.
JP
Great news and a great day for Danny Livesey as well, kept his place perhaps because of the injury to Lubo Michalik, I mean only you will know whether Lubo would have come back in, he played well and got his goal?
GA
Yeah, I mean, listen, with Danny as well you know what you are going to get, late on in the game he was a bit like the big fella next to me (Derek Mountfield), there were two balls going in and we sometimes look at him on the deck and think that he is a little bit uncomfortable. But, the ball went in twice, he heads it once, it comes back in, he heads it again and that is Danny to a tee, and you are always likely to get a goal from a set-piece from him. So, Danny has done what Danny does, he stepped up to play offside when there are two men ten yards behind him in the first-half, that's Danny. But, like I said, you know what you are going to get and he doesn't disappoint you, he has just given a Danny Livesey performance.
JP
We did notice that actually, it was quite funny but thankfully those men did manage to cover him. You could go through the whole eleven couldn't you, you could go through everyone and talk about good performances, how much of a part did Yeovil play in this match? In the recent trips down here they have been a really hard team to break down and a good team, they are looking very short of confidence aren't they?
GA
Listen, it is a stage of the season which if you can not give anything away early, which we did at Chesterfield, that you can actually work for you, their situation can work for you. Terry works so hard, he was with me last night, we both went to the game at Bristol Rovers to watch it and take a game in. He is up there with watching football and he works hard on the training ground, and you have to sympathise because he will turn this round no question.
But, at the minute once something goes against you, which it did with the sending-off you know, that is what happens when you are down there struggling, and we just wish him well. We don't blow over things like that, I understand his situation and he knows where we have been at times. But, we have come here a lot of times and walked away with nothing when we think we have done really, really well. Today it is our day but definite sympathies for Yeovil, they look like their confidence is a bit short, but he will sort them out, no problem.
JP
Up to eighth now, just a point off the play-offs albeit only just after a quarter of the season, but it must be nicer to be able to talk sympathy for another manager rather than having other managers talking about having sympathy for you at this stage?
GA
Yeah, I mean it is too early to be worried about anything, we just want to keep playing and getting as many points as we can and seeing where it takes us. We need to get a bit of momentum, we need to get everybody into that momentum and within the club the spirit and the determination and the way everybody works is fantastic. What we need to do is find some extra people in Carlisle to come and see what we are doing, we thought we were terrific last week, it was a great game, probably played as well last week as this week, but maybe didn't create as many chances.
But, we need people to come and back us, if they want us to be in the top six we need that extra little bit and games like this will help that. So, that is all we can do and it is nice to be up where we are but loads and loads and loads of work to do and loads more points to get before we can even start thinking we are even comfortable. But, this is a bit of a benchmark because we have never done it before here, and we walk away with three points and seven hours travelling is not very nice when you have got nothing.
JP
And a thriller next weekend it promises to be in the capital?
GA
Who do we play next week?
JP
Charlton.
GA
I should know that shouldn't I? Yeah, no, listen, we knew we had two tough games, Yeovil and Charlton away, so if we can get through them, get a result next week then we might just have an absolute bumper against Sheffield Wednesday which would be fantastic.
JP
Great to get a big crowd in for that and you will do that if you get the right performance?
GA
That is it, that is it, we have got to keep doing that you know, we are not going to dress ourselves up, like I don't batter us down when we have got beat, I am not going to start singing from the rooftops now. It is a good result, it is another three points in the bag, if we can get that result next week it does set it up for what would be a really attractive game against Sheffield Wednesday,
JP
A couple of quick final ones, Lubo, should he be OK for next weekend?
GA
Yeah, he has got some metal in his knee and I don't know what they do in Slovakia, I think the doctor is a bit of a.............
JP
He has put a railway bar in it.
GA
..................metal magician, but he is bolted up, I thought he wouldn't even get through customs because of the metal, but he is through anyway and he is back. but he should be alright.
JP
And finally you have brought in Jeremy Helan who didn't get a great deal of time today obviously?
GA
Yeah, I mean, we only saw him yesterday, so it is difficult. This is a tough league this, it is proper, proper real football from where he has come from. So, if we had got him in on Monday or Tuesday we would have had a good look at his situation, but I thought it was the right thing to do today, and to be fair Rory hasn't let me down has he, he has been as good as we have had today. So, that was probably right and hopefully he will get his football in the next month and enjoy his time with us.
JP
Is he a player then that you would expect to have further up rather than back in the left-back, a lot of people seem.................
GA
Yeah, I don't know where this left-back thing has come from.
JP
He is not a left-back then?
GA
Absolutely not a left-back no, I have got a good left-back (Matt Robson) who has been absolutely outstanding again today as well. But, Jeremy is one that has got loads of pace, we want him running at full-backs and causing problems.
JP
It was tough for us, I looked him up everywhere on the internet to find out really what he was, and the best I could find was Football Manager forums star left-back?
GA
Yeah, well why didn't you just ring me?
JP
I should have done.
GA
And I would have told you where he plays. But, no, he is a forward player, he can play high up and with his blistering pace that is where we want him, and certainly when games get stretched I think we will see a good player. But, again it is a young player, coming in to develop his football career and we will try to help.