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" It's been a good week, the lads have taken the criticism on the chin for the first time this season and they have come in very, very lively. They are looking forward to the game, they have been very, very sharp and up for it in training so far, so pats on the back for them, they know they didn't perform last Saturday but they are really looking forward to this game. It will be a really competitive game, they had a good win last Saturday in the cup which will give them confidence. The new manager has been in now for about four weeks and his ways and methods will just be sinking in now I would imagine. They have got poor home form and we have got poor away form so somebody has got to miss out.
" John Nixon, our managing director, has been on the phone constantly for the last two weeks I suppose talking about Paul Thirlwell. When you have permission to play people in the FA Cup then that normally tells that you that the player doesn't figure in their plans. We'll see what Derby say though, we are in contact with them and in negotiations with them, the lad is performing to a high level, I think everybody has been impressed since he came to the football club. He's certainly contributed to the team, he's made players look better, he's a good player, he's a Championship player and that's what we are looking to bring into this squad. The squad is good, even though it is thin, and we are trying to enhance it and make it better.
" It's not just me, I'm speaking to other managers as well in our situation where they are trying to strengthen, and even down below they are struggling. They are struggling because teams don't want to let their players go away, they have got injuries and a thin squad themselves, so we're just trying to get that right person to come along. All we can do is just keep on making the phone calls, I'm expecting a couple of phone calls this morning (Thursday) on a couple of people and fingers crossed it's positive. If it's not then we have a list, it's not just moving from one to the other, we have a calculated list on who we are looking at, who we can pick up, who we can watch and who might be available.
" We're going through the list, it's not so much speaking to the players, you are speaking to clubs to ask permission first of all, if we can get that permission then hopefully we can persuade players to come, which I have done in the past. Kevin Harper has been persuaded to come from a Championship club, and so have Jermaine Beckford and Paul Thirlwell. Carlisle is an attractive place to come, we are eighth in the league, we're newly promoted, we've got a fantastic following home and away, and it is good for somebody to come. Hopefully the football that we are playing excites people and excites managers to think that they might send one of their players here, that are going to be playing good football, playing in front of a big crowd and the team is doing well.
" The most frustrating thing is when some players say that they don't fancy it, some are on the verge of getting in the first team or some are playing reserve team football, some are just happy playing reserve team football as they are in the comfort zone. Maybe they are being treated well at their football club and sometimes when you treat people too well they don't want to leave, so that is a difficult part in itself. We'll just keep trying and chipping away, the question is going to be asked all the time until the window shuts, and then it will be asked again when the window opens again.
" Paul (Murray) is still in his rehabilitation situation, he's done his cartilage which has been repaired, he's been to Germany to get some injections, and he's getting some injections on a regular basis to try and heal the process. He feels good, he's coming in with a smile on his face, he said is he feeling good so if he says that then that is excellent news. At the same time though we still have to be cautious because it was a serious injury. We don't really have any date as to when he would be available, we're seeing how it goes, we have a timescale of each injury. You'd expect a cartilage injury to take maybe six weeks, but he's obviously hurt his knee ligament as well, we're just working to our injury timescales and seeing how he progresses. If he has a relapse he has a relapse, if he doesn't then that is good news for us. "