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" I'm back at the football club again working as the Football in the Community officer, I've been there just over three years now so that's one of my full-time jobs. I'm also trying to run a pub full-time as well so that is my second full-time job. It's a disaster, I haven't slept for two years.
" This will be my fourth Masters, I played three years in a row up in Glasgow at Braehead for Celtic, I think it was Rangers, Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen were in it one year. So I've played before in the Masters. It's very tough, it's a big arena and it's six-a-side and you have to keep the ball, that's very important, if you give the ball away then it is sometimes difficult to get it back. Because there are good players there, lads that have played around and about the leagues and they know what they are doing. They do say that when you can't run you can play, so we have got some good players.
" I had a look at the squads on the internet the other day and I think that by far Middlesbrough look the strongest squad. It doesn't always work like that but the players that they have got, the likes of Craig Hignett, they look as though they are lads that are probably not that long finished and maybe still got a little bit of fitness about them. Newcastle and Sunderland will be tough but maybe we are a little bit lucky that we have missed out on Middlesbrough and we can have a go at Sunderland and Newcastle before.
" Then if we get to the final we can have a go at Middlesbrough in the final, if we can get that far. You would think that most of the Newcastle lads will be fit as well, I know that Micky Quinn is down to play so that is good for them if he is going to play. The last time that I saw Micky he was about 18 stone so that should be OK.
" I think that in modern football now the thing that happens now is that with six months left on your contract you are allowed to speak to anybody you want. In six months time Carlisle United would get nothing for Keiren Westwood, so the club itself has to look after the club itself. If they are going to get a substantial amount of money for Keiren then I think it is good business. "
" That's the way modern football is now, players left with a year on their contract, they either sign a new contract or clubs will look to sell them on. Because at the end of the day the club has to look after itself years down the road, it's not just about the next year or the next six months. Unfortunately that's the way football is now, it will be interesting to see if he is going to go and they are going to sell him, I would figure that there will be some sort of add-on clauses as well. So I would guess that if you tot it all up it would probably be more than £1 million if everything comes to fruition.
" I think that at our level once you start doing well people wonder why you are doing well and they come and have a look at your games. Then they see that is the reason they are doing well, they have got a good centre-half, a good goalkeeper, a good midfield player, a good striker, it's not science.
" I don't do a lot of running these days, I can't run with my knees and my ankle. A bit of five-a-side on a Friday night though, that is the only time I really run about. Swimming, a bit of cycling, and a bit of weights in the gym, so I'm quite lucky because I'm out and about with the kids every day playing football so I can keep pretty fit. I've had a real go though the last six weeks because when Andy Hall asked me to play I thought that if I am going to do it then I am going to try to do it properly, so hopefully it will be OK on Sunday.
" I know Darren Edmondson and Dean Walling and Rod Thomas but the only one that I really played with was Jimmy Glass in training. All the rest of the lads I never played with at the club so it will be nice to see them, it will be nice to see Paul Simpson again, I haven't seen him since he left the club. So it will be nice to catch up, it will be nice to see Glassy, I haven't seen him actually since the day he scored the famous goal, so it will be nice to catch up with Glassy again.
" I think the nice thing is that although it is Carlisle United against the rest of the Masters lads, is that all the lads will get together before it. There will be players there who have played for the club like Paul Baker and Mark Prudhoe who is going to play in goal for Sunderland. Straight away the lads will really get involved with each other, a bit different to what you get on the pitch mind you.
" Because once the serious stuff starts you do tend to want to win the game. I know that we are a lot older now but once the game starts you don't want to get beat, you want to win, you want to have the bragging rights when the games finish. Once you start playing it just kicks in again and you want to try to nutmeg Paul Baker and Mark Prudhoe and things like that. "
Meanwhile former Blues boss, and United's captain for the Masters, Paul Simpson, commented :
" It's hard work, it is, the problem that you find is that there is hardly any air inside the arena as well, so you are struggling to catch your breath. Unfortunately the wait of time has taken it's toll on most of us, and it's normally taking its toll on our stomachs and our lack of fitness. So it's hard work, but it really is good fun and it's a good level of football as well. Once you get that shirt on everybody wants to win, so it's definitely not a friendly, it's a tournament that everybody wants to win.
" First of all I think that playing Carlisle in the Carling Cup is a wonderful draw for us (Shrewsbury). We know it is going to be a tough game, that is taking the personal side out of it for me. It's always difficult when you leave a club, you want to come up against them again, I think I'd rather it wasn't in the first round of the cup though because we know it is going to be tough. I was hoping we might get a good cup run and they could really throw a spanner in the works for me with that.
" We've got a bit of a Carlisle connection, I have to say that there have been a few little criticisms from some people saying that I'm only going for ex-Carlisle players. If they are good enough to make my team better though then I'll take Carlisle player. If I could get even more of them then I would if it means that next year we are going to finish better than 18th in the table like we did last season.
" Paul Murray in particular, I'm hoping will be a big player for us in the first-team. Stephen (Hindmarch) is a young player who, for whatever reason, lost his way in the last year at Carlisle. I don't know whether he's to blame, whether other people are to blame or whether there is a collection of all sorts of things. "
" We have taken a bit of a gamble on him, I'm gambling on what I believe he can do. I think he has got fantastic ability, he's a good athlete, but he has also got things that he needs to improve on. He has got 12 months with us where he has got to move away from home, which will be a big education for him. I'm hoping that he is going to grow up as a person and as a footballer with us in this 12 months and show us that he deserves a contract and he deserves to be involved in my first-team.
" Maybe he does want to prove Carlisle wrong and maybe he doesn't, when I first spoke to him the day after he got released by Carlisle he was angry and he was disappointed. It was all about going and proving Carlisle wrong, then by the time we had had talks and I'd discussed what it was I wanted from him and what I could offer him. He went away and had a think about it and when I brought him down for the day when he signed and had his medical, my question was that when the press speak to him what was he going to say about Carlisle United.
" I don't like people being critical of what has gone because you sound like a bit of a spoilt brat really if you start spitting your dummy out. So I asked him to check that he wasn't going to have a go at Carlisle, and he said that he wasn't at all. Carlisle has gone now for whatever reason, he said that he wanted to go and prove it to himself and to his family that he could be a footballer.
" I liked that because I don't want him trying to prove people wrong, I want him to go and enjoy his football and show himself that he can be a professional footballer. It is down to him, I say this to every player, it's about them, because they are the ones who suffer if they don't do it properly and they are the ones who benefit if they do it properly.
" I've no interest in Zigor Aranalde or Paul Arnison, it's funny, I spoke to Arni the other day. He was on his holiday and he rang me, but they are not positions that I am looking to bring players in. They were both fantastic signings when I brought them into the football club and I think that they have been great servants to Carlisle United as well. It's just not something that I'm looking for, my priorities are in other areas. "
" I've been working really hard this week to try to get players in but it is all very slow, I've decided that I will not speak to anybody again over the weekend about signings. I'm going to leave it, I'm going to try to enjoy myself this weekend and I'll take it up again on Monday, but I don't see Paul Arnison or Zigor coming to me for next season.
" It will be great to see John Halpin again, I haven't seen him since I went into his pub and had a beer with him maybe a year or so ago. It will be nice to see Chris Billy and Andy Preece who I have not seen for a while. So it should be a good day and hopefully we can go and perform and maybe surprise a few people in Carlisle United's first visit to a Masters.
" I'm just trying to work out whether Halpy and I are going to share the role. Because the way that I have always done it in the past when I've played for Manchester City is that you pair up with somebody. Then each of you have a couple of minutes on and a couple of minutes off and work it, but I'm hoping that Halpy is fit, because I'm not sure that I can do a couple of minutes at a time.
" I just got a phone call, the Masters has changed ownership this year, it's normally been a join venture between Masters UK and the PFA. For some reason though it is solely the Masters UK this year. I had a phone call from Andy Hall who does the internet at Carlisle to say that there had been a request for me to play for Carlisle. Because it's the first year I thought that it might actually get me some brownie points back with Carlisle fans who are still not happy about me going.
" So I've decided to play for Carlisle this year, I'm looking forward to it, I still think that it was a real special thing for me to part of my home city football club. It would be nice to go and play for them on Sunday and hopefully we can have a little bit of success. I was really fortunate to be in the Manchester City team that won it a couple of years ago, so that's what I'd like to do again. It would be good if we can go there on Sunday and maybe surprise a few people. "
And famous goalscoring goalkeeper Jimmy Glass said :
" I'm very much looking forward to Sunday, I don't play a lot in goal now-a-days, which will probably be evident on Sunday, it will be nice to put on a Carlisle shirt again. I've spoken to Vince Bartram who has played in it for Arsenal and he said that the floor is very hard, so I've been chasing around trying to get some padding. I'm really looking forward to it though, it will be great fun. If you see me drifting up the pitch a little bit then don't be surprised, I'll try to stick to the goal-line but I can't promise anything.
" I've got a nice little life down in Dorset now, I'm driving a taxi, I've got a little taxi business, which I'm just dropping some people off now so they'll be thinking that I'm going mad. I've got a great family, a lovely little family and I'm going to bring them up with me on Sunday, so I'm really looking forward to it.
" I haven't been up to Carlisle for a while and that's the real shame of it, life gets busy when you have got a young family. I wanted to try to get up there at the end of the season but it didn't work out so, hopefully next season I'll get up and watch them a couple of times. It just depends on things going on down here really.
" I know Andy Preece, I played with Andy Preece at Crystal Palace, obviously I know John Halpin from my days at Carlisle. It's going to be great fun, I'm really looking forward to it. It's one of those things the Masters, I've watched it on television a couple of times thinking that I would love to play in it, and this year I'm getting a chance so it will be fantastic. "
" I'm the fittest person in the world after driving a taxi for the last four years. If I lay down sideways then I should be alright. It's my first time in the Masters, I'm really looking forward to it, Vince said the ground is hard and that it can hurt your hips but I didn't dive when I was a goalkeeper anyway, so I doubt that I'll be starting it on Sunday.
" We're all old people now so I suppose it is whoever is lucky on the day. If anyone has seen the Masters on the television, it looks great fun, I'm sure that it will be great fun when we get there and get playing. I'm just really looking forward to it, it's going to be a great time. My children are going to be there, they haven't really seen me play in goal, they were born after I stopped playing football. So I'm just going to enjoy myself really.
" If I'm honest with you I miss football. I miss playing, I stopped playing too early for different reasons, one and another, and I miss playing. Things like this I really love, just the opportunity to pull the gloves on and dive around and have a good time with the guys. It's funny football, you are in it a long time really from when I left school, and there are certain aspects of it I don't miss but the actual playing itself and the competing side, the competition, I really look forward to. So that will be great fun.
" Marco (Gabbiadini) has always been a good goalscorer, I played with him at Palace. It's just great fun though, I know they all take it very seriously. It's going to be a fantastic day for everyone really, I'm really looking forward to it. "