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" Within three or four hours of being told that you are going to get the manager of the month award, I get told about Joe Garner's injury and Paul Thirlwell's injury that are going to be obviously long lasting. That affects the football club, and the football team and everything that goes with it far more than any sort of recognition that we have achieved. We sat with the players on the Thursday morning when we knew about the two lads and just said to them that the best thing we can do as a group is to try to keep winning our games.
" Then as and when these young fellas get fit and they can help us out on the pitch they are in a better team, and who knows, we might even be in a better league. It's something that we have got to try to achieve for everybody concerned, and particularly the two lads that can't help us on the pitch for a while.
" I haven't spoken to him (Garner) today, I gave him the news with Neil Dalton on Thursday morning as soon as it came into us and we dealt with it publically because we felt that that was the best way to get it out in the open. Certainly Neil has been exceptionally close to Joe and to Paul since these situations arose. I've left Joe alone to deal with the situation with Neil because it is purely medical, a situation that needs to be sorted out now.
" Now that that's been settled and sorted and done then we can have a chat with Joe and tell him to get himself sorted and that we will look after him. He's our player, he's our boy, we'll make sure everything at our football club is in the best situation for him. Obviously you can't hurry these things but we'll get him back in good shape, and hopefully the football club is in good condition when he does come back. "
" He (Thirlwell) has had the season from hell, I haven't seen Paul at his best by a long way and he will be the first to say that. He tried to come back once and felt the calf again and then he was out, and I think he was injured when I got here, and now he's got this situation with the ankle. So I know all about Paul from my days in the game and I'm looking forward to working with people like him, but I've not had him on the pitch and not really had him on the training ground too often.
" What I have got to know about Paul though, he's club captain, he's been a very good professional in that role. Whilst it's extremely difficult for a player not to be involved when games are going on and we are winning and we are having a successful season. He's been in that dressing-room and he's been exceptionally supportive around on training days and match days to all of us. So he's a good professional and while he can't take part on the pitch he has played a big part off it.
" We've managed to go with Paul's injury for some time as you know. Grant Smith has come into the side, Chris Lumsdon is now available again. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson is playing very well, young Luke Joyce has taken his opportunities although they have been few and far between for him but he is there and he is ready. So central midfield we're not too bad at the moment and upfront we've still got Scott Dobie, although he can't play against Nottingham Forest this season, and Danny Carlton, and we've got young Gary Madine coming through the football club.
" If I want, and at the moment I haven't moved on this, but I could recall Kevin Gall from Darlington because we have got a 24-hour recall in his clause. So at the moment we'll sit tight, we'll see what happens on Monday at Nottingham and then I'm sure as a staff we will have a good talk about that. I think it's the third Thursday in March now where we have got another three weeks or so to decide if we are going to do anything.
" Changing the formation is available to me with Chris Lumsdon coming back in, I've been very pleased with Grant Smith's performances in the last two games with Marc Bridge-Wilkinson. They have forged a nice little partnership over a couple of 90 minutes but I've also got Danny Carlton who I watched on Wednesday afternoon in the reserves at Rochdale. "
" He scored a tremendous goal and he played very well individually himself so I've got those things to think about. I've got two days training, we're training on Saturday and Sunday in preparation for the game. Like I always do I'll talk to my staff and no doubt I'll get some ideas and opinions from them and we'll hopefully come up with a formula that works.
" It was great at Crewe at the end, it was the same feeling that the supporters showed across the opposite side from us. They rose as one man and applauded everything, there was a relief and an applause and a delight for everybody concerned, you can use whatever words you wish but we all felt the same.
" We've got that 1-0 win, we've done it away from home and coming on the back of the Doncaster result it was a fantastic effort. Because there was so much went into that game that I just wondered if we had enough energy left for Tuesday and fortunately we did. The relief and the pleasure at the end of the game was there for all to see.
" There is so much to happen yet, Doncaster are away at Tranmere I believe tomorrow, so that can all change by the time Monday comes around. We can only do what we have done at the moment, I think that we've laid the demons of this away situation now hopefully.
" We can look forward to the game on Monday night without any trepidation. We can look into that and say that Nottingham Forest have got to beat us in a strange way more than we have got to beat them. If we were to win that game then it would put us in a lovely position. It puts a lot of edge on the game but it is nice to look at it at the moment. "
" Darren Edmondson obviously thinks he (Dan Kirkup) can do a job. I'm not the right person to talk about that because I don't know the level, I've not seen that football. Darren has seen Danny play and he knows obviously the level that his team are playing at and he feels that he can go in there and do well for him, so I hope he does.
" I've got no axe to grind with Danny Kirkup at all, he's been a good lad, he came back in from Clyde and got on with his training. He got himself a bit fitter I think when he came back in and he is looking forward to getting more regular football at key level. I think that's important, reserve team football is fine to a degree but he is going into a game that really matters for a lot of people tomorrow and I'm sure that he'll rise to that.
" Touch wood we haven't got any other injury problems, we've had today off, we've given the boys a breather. We trained yesterday and we had the reserve game on Wednesday so the week has been pretty hectic with so many football matches to come yet. We are going to hit the ground hopefully tomorrow, hit the ground running on Saturday and Sunday and prepare ourselves and hopefully we won't get any further problems.
" I'm delighted with the manager-of-the-month award, I've said at the time that it will always say Carlisle United at the back of that. It will have my name attached to it which is fair enough but at Carlisle United, the big thing, and that is a recognition for everybody concerned. The team, the players, my backroom staff have been fantastic, you have just heard Neil Dalton talk with real authority about the position he takes up there, he is terrific with these guys.
" People like Greg (Abbott) and Dennis Booth at the back of me, Andy Horn, they have been fantastic, really supported the team and this is an award for everybody. Although it has my name on it, which I'm very proud of, I think that everybody can take pleasure from it. "