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" The mood is good, we are actually on the team coach now, we have just left the training ground. We have travelled down this morning, we've got stuck in some traffic and were late with the training session, but the mood has been very good. So hopefully we can take that into tomorrow, that is the idea obviously.
" I think the effect of last season is something that we will have to wait and see on a little bit. I think that the pre-season has been good in terms of mood, the players have been as positive as they can be. We were obviously disappointed with the two performances last week but we think that we have sorted that lot out.
" I've been through this before at Bristol Rovers some years ago, we lost in the play-off final there and even one or two you didn't expect took a little bit of steady time to get going again the following season. I've also lost in play-offs though and gone and done very well the following season, so it's just a question of seeing how we go. At the moment all I can go on is what I have seen, and the mood has been very good, very strong and very positive, so hopefully that is what we will see.
" The form recently is only a concern if it continues, I think that is the key to it. We could probably talk tomorrow at 5pm with Derek (Lacey) and we'll know a little bit more about it, but I certainly think that the reaction I have wanted on the training ground has been there. The players know that they haven't performed as well as we wanted them to. "
" It's a collective, I'm the manager, I'm responsible for them and I represent them, but at the same time they have got to be responsible for their performance. To be fair they accept that responsibility very well so hopefully that bit of hurt last weekend will do us some good and we will react very strongly tomorrow.
" I've named my starting eleven today, I'm not going to tell you what it is but I have named it today down at the training ground, so the boys are aware of it. I had a long chat with my staff yesterday and as you would probably expect there were a lot of different opinions and viewpoints and two or three areas that we felt were still up for grabs. We have made a decision though and we will get on with it and support it. There aren't any other injury problems apart from Chris Lumsdon and Grant Smith though, everybody else is fit and well.
" There are not that many new faces at Bristol Rovers, he (Paul Trollope) has signed (Darryl) Duffy the forward and he has come in there. Like ourselves he signed (Andy) Williams from Hereford in the earlier transfer market. So he has got a decent side there, I think that they had a good season last year considering that they had just come up. They had been at Wembley in one of the finals so they have had two very good years. I would imagine now that they will be trying to push on so it will be a tough fixture for us obviously.
" There is no transfer movement likely at the moment, I have gone with the settled squad. We said that before, I am not going to get too uptight over last weekend in the same way that I didn't go shouting from the rooftops when we did well against Preston and Middlesbrough. This squad though has got some knowledge and experience in it and we are looking for that to come to the fore. If that is not the case then we'll go looking. We don't close doors here or say that everything is fine and that we are happy. We have got to keep working at trying to improve it and that is exactly where I will go. "
" If we can't win tomorrow then avoid defeat, the idea though is to go and win and that is how we have been talking, but if we can't win then we don't want to get beat, and that becomes the secondary viewpoint. We are certainly looking to try to be victorious in the game though, that is the mood that we have got to go into the match considering.
" Dave (Timmins) is an experienced goalkeeping coach. He has been at Shrewsbury and has done some work at Wolverhampton, and he was obviously at Preston on a full-time basis. I am delighted to get him in but I have to say that there was no major problem with me and Simon Smith but Simon was part-time and didn't see a lot of the football matches, particularly away from home.
" So when the goalkeepers needed a bit of comfort or a mentor then Simon was having to go on what we told him. Dave Timmins will see everything at first-hand though, he is on the coach today, he has trained with the boys this afternoon and he'll be at reserve games. He will see everything that these guys do and that is going to be a major help to my goalkeepers who are all pretty young and need some help.
" I'd say to the supporters tomorrow to set off in good time because there is a lot of traffic. I think that from the whole point of view though, I think it is very important that they stick with us and we stick with them. If everybody works very hard together, we will have some ups and downs this season, we did last year yet we still had a relatively successful time. I think that if everybody sticks together through all the times though then we can have a good time and enjoy the season.
" I think that is the key, whatever goes on we have got to try to enjoy our football at Carlisle United. We travel a long way every time we go away from home, and we get good support at home. If we can all stick together and be very strong in our terms of our support for the football club then we can enjoy it. "