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JP
The mood in the dressing-room must be pretty high after that, I don't know whether you know but top of the league, albeit early in the season.
PT
Yeah, it is nice to see, it is nice to be up there. Yeah, very pleased, another good performance today, possibly feel that in the first-half we could have done a bit more. But, it was very sort of stop-start and tough, a lot of tackles flying in and we managed to get two goals at the back end of it and went in happy.
JP
There was an incident involving Ian Harte and Jermaine Easter, and I think that it seemed MK Dons got a bit flustered and maybe late in the first-half took their eyes off it a bit and you guys just capitalised.
PT
Yeah, I think so, I think the gaffer (Greg Abbott) said at half-time that it kind of kick started everyone that little incident, the usual handbags, everyone running around wanting to fight each other. But, it got us going and then we managed to get a couple of goals.
To be fair, the gaffer wasn't too happy at half-time, he thought we maybe showed them a little bit too much, I don't know if respect is the right word but they popped it about a little bit. Maybe we sat a little bit deep but with that incident we then pressed on and managed to get a couple of goals, and then went on from there.
JP
So, you are saying he wasn't too happy, you could almost see that because in commentary we were saying that MK Dons will come out here and they will go at United to try to get back in the game. But, it was the other way round, you guys came out and went at them, was that exactly what the manager wanted?
PT
Yeah, he had a bit of a go, he was wanting us to go out and start the second-half better than we started the first. Because maybe we didn't get at them as much as we would like for the start of the match. In the second-half we went out there and really got about them and I think for 20-25 minutes really dominated and managed to get two extra goals to kill the game off.
JP
And the diamond, in fairness to Carlisle, you have worked hard on that through the pre-season haven't you? You have really tried to implement that and it really seems to be working at the moment, is there any sort of fear that teams are going to get wise and savvy to what you are doing? Or do you feel that you will be able to work around it if that were the case, if they tried to set their stall out against you?
PT
I am sure teams will be watching it, I am sure MK Dons had us watched and knew exactly probably what we were going to today. But, I think you will find we won't be able to come out and pop the ball about and get the 'oles' out and score free goals. Teams are going to come here and make it hard for us, maybe compact the middle of the pitch.
But, that is up to us, we have got other formations we can play. We changed towards the end of the second-half when they got their goal in that five or ten minutes where they rocked us back a little bit. So, we know what we need to do if and when the situation arises.
JP
And Gary Madine, a young man who it would seem has a big future at Carlisle United, it is all in his own hands, but at the moment he is really coming good on his promise?
PT
Yeah, he is doing brilliantly, as is Craig (Curran). We can't forgot about the sort of donkey work if you like that Craig does, running channels and shutting people down and his goals will come. He was brilliant today alongside Gaz who is just a massive threat, he is a massive threat in the air and now he is getting his goals as well.
JP
It was a good team performance, there was no-one who let anyone down today, no doubt about it. We have got to mention another individual though, Francois Zoko, what he is like as a team-mate? Because it seems that the opposition just don't know what he is going to do next, is there a bit of that for you?
PT
Nor have we, no, we haven't got a clue, we haven't got a clue what he is doing in training or on a Saturday. To be fair he has come in and he has been as good as gold, he has tried to learn English as quickly as he can and he is learning his game and he is learning what he needs to do with the ball and then when he hasn't got the ball. I think he is getting better game by game.
JP
And somebody from the club told me that he has learnt a few English words this week, but a few of them choice, who is in charge of teaching him the lingo?
PT
Yeah, that is probably Kav (Graham Kavanagh) shouting at him in training or something, he gets a bit angry every now and then. But, like I say, he is learning, he is good crack and I am sure he will be a great player for Carlisle this season.
JP
Best part of a week now then until the game at Colchester, a Friday night coming up for you. What does it feel like in the camp when you are playing so well as you are at the moment? Would you almost prefer there was a game in the midweek for you to look forward to or is it nice to have that time off?
PT
You want to get back out there, you want the games to come but you also need time to recover as well. The game will soon come round, it is Friday, it is another long trip, so we will be away down there on Thursday. So, just looking forward to it, the situation is what it is, it is nice to see us top of the league so why not enjoy that for five or six days.
JP
And the final individual to mention, seeing as we are talking to you, should be yourself. You say that you are more than happy in the middle of a flat four across the midfield with wingers, but you really do appear to be flourishing in this role. Are you enjoying that sort of role with a bit more freedom in front of the back four?
PT
Yeah, I am, I am really enjoying it. I think me saying it is boring but the emphasis has to be team. I think we all know exactly what we are doing and we are all doing our jobs well at the minute.
But, we have to keep going, we are not getting carried away as we have said, we have to keep our heads down and keep doing what has got us here. There is no point starting to think we are all fantastic players, we have got here for a reason and that is hard work and organisation.