AH
He didn't do a full training session yesterday, he came with us to Nottingham Forest and he played his part in the warm-up, the build-up and he didn't do any of the contact stuff. I think again it is just a precaution with Paul and particularly the way that we played on Tuesday night.
It wasn't felt that there was a massive rush or a massive need to get him back into the side. Liam Noble came in, he may have been a young lad but he looked way older than his years with the way that he played. So, hopefully he will reproduce that today.
JP
Has there been any sort of a flare-up with Thirlwell's injury then for him not to be included on the bench?
AH
No, not at all, it is really a case of let's just take our time with this one and let's just make sure that he is 100% fit. Because, I think I have said this a million times, he is the kind of player that when he isn't there you realise what he brings to the team.
JP
What has Liam Noble been like then? I think what a lot of people didn't realise perhaps, especially if they were watching him on Tuesday night, and maybe not listening to us, was his first start as a professional footballer. What has he been like this week? Has it been a case of making sure his feet stay on the floor?
AH
I don't think you need to, he has come from a background at a fantastic club (Sunderland) over in the North-East and he has got his head really well screwed on. He just wants to play football and that seems to be the mantra from Greg (Abbott) whenever he brings a player in. He wants to see that fire in the eyes from the lads, he wants to make sure that they do want to be here and play the game.
Liam, you would think he had played 100 games the way that he approaches everything that he does and that is absolutely fantastic to see. He has got to keep it going, he knows that, so the pressure is on him to do that, but he looks like he is a fantastic signing and it is great to have him here until the end of the season.
JP
Looking out there at the field in front of us, it is very muddy, it looks like it is going to cut up very quickly, it is not a great playing surface here, is that going to be something that Carlisle will have to deal with against a Notts County team who are going to want to stop you playing football?
AH
They are a classic League One/League Two 4-4-2 side, they really do play that way. That is the very message the manager has just reminded the lads about, he went over it yesterday in our training session, he has gone over it again. They will do exactly that, but what Paul Ince has got here is that he has got players who can use the ball as well.
If they get it wide, (John) Spicer and (Alan) Judge, I know that Ben Davies isn't here anymore and he has been a wonderful player at Shrewsbury and here. He isn't here anymore but those players are going to step in and carry it on for them, because if they win the battle they are a very good football side, and that is what we are going to have to counter today.
JP
While we have been talking here, infact while you were giving that one answer, I have seen Craig Curran and James Berrett slip over out there, any cause for them to maybe rethink their studs and footwear out there?
AH
Well, it was strange, because yesterday we were even wondering whether the game would be on because the training pitches over at Forest, which isn't that far away, to be honest with you were rock hard. So, we put in a quick phone call to see what it was like and I think the rugby that has been played on here has kept the pitch playable but you can see that there is not much grass. When there isn't much grass it gives way underfoot, so that is something that you have to bear in mind, but it is the same for both teams so you just get on with it.
JP
But, they will be more used to playing on it. A very interesting game, it is one of those where they will want to try to level Carlisle United, they will want to try to knock the wind out of the sails, what has Greg Abbott been saying in the build-up as you were down there with him, and on the bus and with the players?
AH
They have got the momentum that every team wants, they have got I think it is eight straight games without defeat and when you have got that kind of thing behind you confidence breeds and you start to play your football and you go out there expecting to win.
Having said that, the message to our boys was that the pressure is on them to reproduce, because we have seen two fantastic performances at home, we probably haven't been doing it enough away for our liking for a while now. If we can start to get those kinds of performances away as well then maybe people will start to believe.
JP
And it would be nice to take that short trip, and it is one of the shorter trips really, I know the Carlisle fans perhaps don't think that but they are all long trips for them, but one of the shorter trips back with the three points in the bag?
AH
That has got to be the aim for every game hasn't it, and we keep talking about the Champonship, it is not an idle threat, it is not a throwaway comment. A club like Carlisle United should be trying to get there, you can only do it if you are winning games like this.