United assistant manager Davie Irons (DI) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) following Carlisle's 2-1 League One win at home to Peterborough, Irons saying it must have been wonderful match to watch for the fans:
JP
I am sure you are exhausted after that pulsating end-to-end game?
DI
Totally cool, calm and collected like the rest of us. No, I thought it was excellent, it must have been a wonderful game to watch from the stands. Credit to both teams, I thought it was a real good football match, obviously I am biased towards ourselves but over the piece I thought we deserved to come away with the three points.
JP
Absolutely, first-half one of the best 0-0 45 minutes and when you consider that in the Premier League yesterday somebody won 6-0 in the second-half, it could have been 6-o in the first-half couldn’t it, it was an amazing half to end goalless?
DI
Yeah, I thought considering we went with a slightly different shape today it was credit to the boys. They adapted to it very, very quickly and I thought it gave us a real edge to our game. We got on the front foot, we were winning second balls, I thought James Berrett and Liam Noble in the middle of the park were picking every second ball up and driving forward with David Amoo on one side and Tom Lawrence on the other, and Lewis Guy working his absolute socks off upfront.
It was a really good game and credit to the players, I thought they gave their all and I think that shows the real spirit and determination about the group. We were disappointed with the defeat against Preston here because we felt we didn’t deserve to lose, I thought we maybe deserved at least a point the other day. The boys have taken that on today and tried to get back on track, obviously we had a wee bit of luck with the penalty miss but over the piece I thought we deserved to win the game.
JP
In terms of the formation, you said you turned it around, but you played three at the back against Fleetwood and that was early in formulating that tactic and it didn’t quite work out that day, but today it really did work out, how long have you been working on that sort of complete change of formation, because it took us about the first 15 minutes and hopefully Peterborough as well to work out exactly who was were?
DI
Obviously, Graham Kavanagh spoke about it prior to training and prior to certainly before today. We had tinkered with that system, you are right, at Fleetwood and it didn’t really work. But, also in that system at Fleetwood we did change the team around, no disrespect to anyone, we put out our on strongest eleven on the night. Today we tinkered with the system but we have gone with a stronger starting eleven, at the moment anyway.
So, I think that gave a bit of confidence within the system. Kav spoke to them and we spoke about how the system would work and the benefits of how the system would give us that attacking impetus. You look at the two wide areas, you have got David on one side and Tom on the other, we were hoping to get a lot of one-on-ones and that is exactly the way it worked out.
We have got a real solid back three in Sean O’Hanlon, I thought Max Ehmer was again magnificent and then Courtney Meppen-Walter. So, it was a big solid three and it gave us a platform to go and play. But, we also took into account Peterborough’s system, so that kind of influenced the way we went about it. But, credit to the boys, they have picked it up and ran with it and we have come away with the three points.
JP
Tell me in words you are allowed to say on the radio, what was going through yours and Graham Kavanagh’s mind when Lee Tomlin rattled that free-kick in off the bar?
DI
Well, it is one of them isn’t it, it is a sucker punch. How many times does that happen, a team go down to ten men and then they got a huge lift from that goal. To be fair the boy has got that in his locker hasn’t he, he has got the ability to do that and you can’t take anything away from him, it was a great strike and a really good goal. Obviously, then what that does is put a wee bit of pressure on us as a home team with an extra man.
But, I thought the response from the players was magnificent, we did one or two wee things to change it around. I thought one of the biggest things today was that the fans got right behind the team and you could hear that from behind us. Everybody was really driving the team on and I think that had a big part to play in it as well. There were no boos, it was just a real ‘come on lads, you can get something today’, and that is the way it worked out.
JP
How happy were you for David Amoo getting the two goals that won Carlisle the match today, a lot of work from other players in them but at a time when one or two were just starting to get on his back a little bit, to see him respond in the right way to that and show people what he has made of, I was thrilled by it?
DI
Absolutely, I think with no disrespect to any other player at the club I think he has been the star man this season, right from the start, right from day one. Yeah, he has had his dips in from but if you think about his return in terms of goals from wide man, magnificent. You look at his performances against Preston, Brentford, David Amoo has got everything in his locker and he is a real threat for us. You are quite right, he has come up with the two goals, I mean Matty Robson has done brilliantly, he has put in a great ball and David is there and has finished it off.
David is a very, very popular player within the dressing room, I can tell you he is one of the most popular boys in the dressing room. You can see with the way they responded with the second goal, I think to a man bar Ben Amos who can’t run as fast as the rest of them, they were all on top of him at the far end. I think that tells you everything about how we feel as a club towards David Amoo.
JP
How crucial was it to end 2013, but also a little run of home games, before a few coming up away from home now including the big one with Sunderland but Crewe before that, with this sort of performance first but also the three points as well?
DI
I think it was a huge three points today, I am not quite sure how the other scores went but I think one or two teams around or about us have won as well, so that tells you it was a big three points for us. I think our home form up until Preston has been quite good, I think prior to that we had only lost at home to Bristol City in Kav’s tenure.
So, our home form has been not too bad and I would like to think, I know Kav has said this as well, I would like to think that people are starting to see how we are changing the team. We are changing the style, we are changing the way we play, but that is going to be a gradual thing throughout the season.
But, if people can stick with us and I am quite sure after the types of games we have seen in the last two or three home games, the Brentford cup tie and the Preston game and today. They are getting real value for money when they are coming along, so I think we are becoming quite an exciting team to watch. I think that is a big thing for Kav anyway, he wants to be an exciting type of team, so hopefully people come and watch us.
JP
There were a number of outstanding performances, I don’t want to go through this, I mean you could go through every player in the team and we did upstairs in summing up the match. But, Courtney Meppen-Walter coming back in and that back three, is that something that you will look to in the future as well because they looked so solid as a unit of three in there, O’Hanlon, Ehmer and Meppen-Walter?
DI
Yeah, I mean I think with any team you need a platform and that platform was our back three or back four. We tinkered today, whether we continue with that type of system remains to be seen, but what it has done is has shown the players are flexible and adaptable and they are certainly more than capable of changing and adapting to the system.
It will be horses for courses, I can’t imagine we will go to a back three at Sunderland, maybe a back nine at Sunderland. But, I think the fact that the players have shown they can adapt to the demands Kav has put on them in terms of systems and work-rate and everything he demands off the players, I think there has been a massive response to that today.
JP
You hear a lot about philosophies in football at the moment, a lot of managers have their philosophy that they want to imprint on a club, clearly with yourself, Graham Kavanagh and Tony Caig, you want to get the ball down and you want to play. But, you have come up against a couple of teams who have been doing that for three or four years with Walsall and Swindon that spring to mind and maybe they looked a touch ahead of you. How pleasing was today given that you were up against a Peterborough side who have been doing that for years and you came out on top and you were dominating eleven on eleven, let alone when they went to ten men?
DI
Absolutely, philosophy is a big thing, you are not going to be able to stamp your philosophy on a club overnight, it does take time. Kav being the type of guy he is, I know the way he wants to play and the players know the way we want to play and it is a gradual thing. But, I think certainly home games you can see we are starting to try to play the way that both Kav and Caigy and myself want to play.
We have got good footballers, we are not bringing players into the team that can’t play. You look at Tom Lawrence, Prince Buaben, David Amoo and even Max Ehmer who is so composed at the back and Courtney can play. They are guys who can play football and it is going to be a gradual thing and without looking too far ahead that is the way we want to play.
We want to play football, we want to make it exciting and attractive for people to come along and watch. Hopefully people will start to realise and they will buy into it and they will see that there is a bit of excitement down at Brunton Park these days.
JP
A couple of players who were not in the squad from last time out, Paul Thirlwell and Chris Chantler, have they picked up knocks, what is the situation with them, might they be available for the New Year?
DI
Yeah, they will, history will tell you that we have to protect Paul Thirlwell. I know I said David Amoo has been the top player this season but Paul Thirlwell has been right up there with him as well. Kav is keen to try and protect Thir, we knew with this period of games over Christmas and the New Year that it would be huge demands on Thir, especially with him having one or two issues with his calf and things, so we have to try to protect him.
Chants is another one, obviously he has had a serious injury so it is just getting him back and getting him game time. It is a squad game, especially at this time of year so you will see these players back involved over the next couple of games.
JP
Any other knocks ahead of that game away at Crewe?
DI
No, I think we got through that unscathed apart from the dugout and the water bottles which I think got a few knocks throughout the 90 minutes, but we are fine.
JP
And just on that Crewe match, of course the players will be tucked up in bed by eight o’clock I have no doubt on New Year’s Eve. What about the coaching staff, might you see in 2014 with a sherbert or two?
DI
I don’t know about Kav, probably, but we have a very quiet New Year in Scotland as well, very subdued. No, I am quite sure the boys will be totally professional, having worked with them over the last three or four months I know how professional they are. We know it is a big game at Crewe, a very big game at Crewe, so we will be approaching that in the most professional manner we can.