Steve Tilson On The Carlisle Game

Last updated : 28 October 2007 By Thetashkentterror

Southend boss Steve Tilson
Shrimpers manager Steve Tilson spoke to BBC Radio Essex on Thursday morning about the big top end of the table clash between the two Blues at Roots Hall this coming Saturday, Tilson saying that the game should be an enjoyable spectacle for the supporters :


" I think that all the matches are as big as the next one, obviously they are third in the league and we are second so I think that people will portray that as a big game. I think that every game is as big as the next one though, it doesn't matter who are playing. It should be a good crowd, a good atmosphere and hopefully we can keep the run going.

" Once you get to about 20 games the top spot changing every week won't happen because the league will be a little more spread out. At the moment though if you lose a couple then you can drop down quite a way and if you win a couple then it gives you a little bit of breathing space. So from that point of view it is important but every game is important to win and we'll be trying our best to get the three points on Saturday.

" I think by Christmas time that it should be a little bit more spread out and if you win or lose a couple of games you don't jump up as much. So I think it's important around Christmas time that we are in and around the top six. At the moment we are one of the form sides in the division but Carlisle are too. We are pleased with the way that things are going at the moment, things are looking decent.

" We're on a good run at the moment, the lads are confident, so we'll be positive going into the game on Saturday. Obviously they (Carlisle) have had a fantastic start, John Ward has come in and carried on from what the assistant manager was doing. He's carried that work on and they are on a good run themselves. Like I say, we are expecting another tough game and a good footballing match because they try to play football so it's going to be another tough game for us.

" The league is not over four of five games, we are still only twelve games into it but things are looking good for them and ourselves at the moment. So I'm sure they will want to carry on the form they have been in as much as we are, it's going to be a good game. They will try to play football and they do try to play football, we've had them watched and they do try to play football. So it should be a decent football spectacle, for me that is the way that I want to play and I think it's good for the people watching, it should be a decent spectacle for the crowd.

" I didn't feel that we played too badly at the start of the season, we lost at Brighton, we lost at Leeds, games that we shouldn't have lost, we played well enough to get something out of the games. We had a few new faces but I'm not going to blame that on defeats at the start of the season. We've got a bigger squad, not massive, 23 players, but if they're not doing the business then it gives me the opportunity to put other players in and give them a chance. So everyone has got to be on their toes.

" He (Adam Barrett) is fine, he had a scan and there is nothing serious so he'll be fine for Saturday. His shiner goes with his head I think, he's got a bit of a bruise there but everything is fine. He (Garry Richards) got a whack on the foot, I can't see him being involved on Saturday but 48 hours is a long time, we'll have to wait and see how the treatment goes. I think that he got a whack on it ten or eleven days ago and it's been getting a little bit worse, he trained and it got stamped on so it has just made it a bit worse. "