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" My nose operation was painful, so I am still speaking like a bit of an idiot, but it is not too bad. I think that it was my first reserve game, smashed in the nose by Lee Thorpe, so yes, brilliant. Everyone else saw it but the referee didn't. Basically I broke the nose and your septum, which is up inside the nose, was deviating, so it was bent across.
" So I couldn't really breathe properly when I was running and things like that, which is obviously a problem, so the surgeon basically said that I needed to wait until the season finished because I needed a bit of a long rest. So I obviously waited for the off-season and then got it done, I think that it was last Monday I got it done.
" It was brilliant at Hereford, it is close to home, I am from Coventry so it is an hour drive from Coventry. The manager, John Trewick, was my youth manager at West Brom so it was brilliant to see him again. It was unfortunate that obviously they went down but it is a great club and a great bunch of lads so I really enjoyed it.
" They spoke to me on quite a few occasions saying that they wanted me to go up there, because I spoke to them last summer as well. So they definitely wanted me to stay but obviously I am under contract at Carlisle so I was there just to play some games and help them out really, it didn't quite work out like that because they got relegated, but never mind.
" I have spoken to Greg (Abbott) finally and I have got a meeting with him on Monday I think, so we are going to sit down and discuss where I lie in his plans, and then just take it from there really. I came to Carlisle because I wanted to push on and get in the Championship and play with Carlisle, so that is still in the forefront of my mind. "
" Obviously last season I was a bit upset with the way that no-one bothered with me really. Because I went out on loan to Hereford to play games, to do well and to get myself back in the Carlisle team, but that didn't happen. I am looking forward to the season though, I have been doing a lot of weight training and things like that because I know that I need to get a bit stronger, so I have been doing that. Obviously I have been injured with this operation but I am trying to kick on really, so hopefully I will be back next season, it depends what Greg wants to do really.
" I speak to John (Ward) regularly, because obviously I didn't play at the start with John but he assured me that I was going to play eventually and get myself in the team. I found a place in the team and I got into the team at a time when no-one was doing well. So Greg didn't really know me and no-one was playing well, so obviously his first impressions of me are not brilliant. So I can understand him choosing not to pick me but only Greg can say about it really, I don't know what is the case really.
" I have got a personal fitness trainer down here, he is an Olympic weightlifter so it is just for a bit more power and a bit more explosive strength really, so I have just been doing that. Obviously though that has gone on a bit of a hold because of my nose. I am just going to kick on with that really, my brother is a boxing trainer so I can do a bit of conditioning work with him, so it is really good.
" I am looking forward to coming back, I am itching to come back to be honest because I just feel like last season was a bit of a waste. I might as well have not turned up really because I didn't really play that much, I went out to Hereford to play a few games and I got injured there, so I am just itching to play really.
" To be honest for me, coming to Carlisle, I am not the best trainer in the world but training at Carlisle, I trained a lot better than I have ever done before. I was a lot more dedicated at Carlisle so I am going to carry on doing what I was doing really, because I don't think that I was doing much wrong. I just need a run of games in the team really, I was new to the team, I didn't really know how they played. I know that I had a pre-season but I needed a run of games to show what I can do and I just didn't get that opportunity, so hopefully I will get that this year. "