Greg Abbott - Radio Cumbria Interview

Last updated : 02 June 2009 By Thetashkentterror

Blues boss Greg Abbott
United boss Greg Abbott spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Derek Lacey at Wednesday morning's open press conference for the local media as he talked about the players that Carlisle are waiting on contract decisions from, Abbott later commenting on United now looking at Scottish players :



" We have no news on the players offered deals yet but they have all taken them away. They will all digest them and then come back, we have had one or two inclinations that we are getting close on one of them, so that is good news. The others will be probably just be having a little bit of a holiday to be fair, getting over the end of the season. I would expect in the next week or so that we will get feedback on more of them and we can see where we stand from there.

" To be fair to the players and to us, and the players generally are like that, we all need to know where we stand. So we have said that from last week when we gave them the letters that we would give them a month to make a decision either way and if they choose to do different then we will look at that situation.

" You wouldn't probably expect them though to go away and then come back the next day and do it, it doesn't generally happen like that. So we will be giving them a bit of time to have a look at maybe the options that they are entitled to do, and then come back in due course and let us know what they are going to do. A month is the timescale though.

" Michael (Bridges's) situation has not changed at all, we said that we would leave him a week to ten days to gather his options. He is still contracted to Hull, their season is still playing so I am sure that his agent is having a look at the enquiries that have come in about Michael's situation. What Michael will do then is have a look at everything that is on the table and then see what he wants to do, and he will give us an idea of where we stand in that order.

" I won't know about what Chris Lumsdon has been offered, you will know that before me. He is not going to ring me about his offers, I will only ever find out if people ring about a referee for Chris Lumsdon, and it will be a top one that he gets if they do that. Nobody has been in touch with me about Chris so if it is the case as you say that Shrewsbury are interested and that is nearly done then that would be brilliant for him and he can kick on his career. "



" Josh (Gowling), we are due to talk with Josh over the next week or so to see what his situation is. I have just had a second hand message that he is due to come back and start pre-season, what is his situation likely to be? I would rather that message had come from Josh himself so we can talk face to face and know where we stand. So I think that the next plan of attack with Josh is to meet him and see what his plans are.

" We have got three left-sided players identified already, again it is going to come down to whether we can put a package together for the player and for the club. They are good players these players that we are interested in, I think that there will be a lot of interest in them. We are on to that at all times really, my phone is never switched off and lots of phone calls coming in and out during the day. There have been a couple of targets but certainly midfield players have been identified and we are optimistic.

" Graham Kavanagh, Dennis Booth, myself and Dave Timmins were all in Scotland on Saturday. There are a couple of real live targets in Scotland as well so we are aware of it, through John Halpin as well, we have got a lot of contacts there and there has been some really good feedback. There are two real live targets from Scottish clubs so it is alive for us and we are looking.

" We have tried to look at Scotland because if you think that Glasgow is about 75 minutes from here and there are about 15 to 18 clubs in and on the outskirts of Glasgow. We are looking to attract players, geography-wise we struggle but Glasgow is very, very close to us so I think that it is an area where we need to develop and we have done.

" John has done a terrific job in helping us, assisting in his role at the club to help us identify players there and give us some referees. We have followed up a couple, a couple have come back with outstanding references and we have seen two and we really like what we have seen. "



" He (Stephen Dobbie) has been on our radar for about 12 months to be honest but it was always going to be difficult to attract him to come when he scores the goals that he did. The move he has got is to Swansea and I spoke to his (Queens's) chairman (David Rae) at the weekend and just gave him a clue of where I was.

" I am not looking to get deals done as quickly as I can. I am looking to get it assembled as the best I can, and sometimes you might be better off waiting because there are a lot of players become available just right now at the end of the season with players released. There are a lot of players become available later on in the pre-season break that have possibly not got the deals at bigger clubs, or the amount of money that they have wanted at other clubs that they are looking for.

" We then become an option so players that are looking for massive wages come on the horizon. So we don't want to get it done as quickly as we can, what we want to do is make sure that we assemble it at the right time with the right sort of quality. So we are not going to dash into the market today because there might be something comes up better on the pre-season.

" If you have got a player on that released list that is on your wish list then you do it quickly. If you have not then you have a look at what is available. We have got over 200 players on a list of a players that we have enquired about or watched or are on our radar, which might amaze you. What we try to do is put a priority list of 20, narrow that down to 20, and continue to monitor the progress of the others.

" It is very difficult because we have got people at every part of the country. We certainly though through contacts and ringing up and speaking to people, we are trying to chase up referees on these players over a long period. So we make sure that when we do bring somebody in then we have got a lot of information about them. "



" As we stand though we have got some live targets but I think that there is always something that comes through from an agent or through the released list that might be of better quality than what you have actually got at the moment. I have got a budget to work to and if we can afford him (Ian Harte) and he fits into it then we will do it.

" We might have to be careful how we put it together, if you go shopping and you have got £50 to spend at ASDA then you spend it and you get your £50 worth of food. You might put more of it into one area than the other and that is what we have to do, but we are doing everything that we can. The budget is an amount which is terrific for me to work with and I have got no qualms about that. Ian comes into it and hopefully we can talk to him and persuade him that it is the right club for him and get his signature quickly.

" It is an exciting time for me, some of the people's names that are coming in, if we get them in and we can manage to persuade them that this is the right club. Because obviously good players attract attention from a lot of clubs. I am really optimistic that we can build on the Millwall team, if we can get three or four players in that are better than that team that started that game then we are going to have a terrific squad.

" Then we are going to have some spaces available for young players to progress and if they can push forward with a hunger and determination that is required then you might have a surprise out of the younger crop to come through. That is always nice when your products of your youth system get in to the team.

" We are having a go next year boy, I am telling you that we are having a right go next year. I can't wait now, the players have got to come and share that hunger, if they don't then they are going to find themselves falling behind. So have your summer, enjoy your rest, but come back ready. "