United boss Greg Abbott (GA) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) at Tuesday's open press conference for the local media, Abbott first talking about his own contract situation at Brunton Park:
GA
I am just going to speak to John Nixon this afternoon, I have been away actually watching loads of games. I have watched more games probably in the last two or three weeks than I have had the chance to in a while. So, I have sort of just been having dialogue over the phone but I am going to speak to John this afternoon and see if we can sort everything out. We have made a lot of plans for what we are trying to do next season, and we are trying to make plans to rebuild the squad again.
That is taking pretty good shape, I have been hard at things in terms of structures and putting the whole thing together. So, obviously to do that I would like to be here and I think John would like me to be here, so I am going to go and sit with him this afternoon, we have both been busy up to now, and see if we can finalise all those little details. That is the same with Tony Caig and Graham Kavanagh and Eric Kinder as well, so hopefully by the end of today that will be sorted out.
JP
Are we at dotting I’s and crossing T’s then, is that the stage we are at now?
GA
I don’t know, you had better ask John that. He is the one that makes all those major decisions, but we have sort of in principle near enough agreed where we are. We just haven’t had the chance to sit down, I have been busy doing my stuff and he has been busy doing his, I don’t perceive too many problems to be honest. But, football is a precarious industry so I never take anything for granted.
JP
Obviously, your coaching staff you are saying are all involved in that as well, are you pretty much a team now the way that you guys are all together, you wouldn’t want to sign if any of those were being moved away?
GA
We have always worked as a team, sometimes you don’t have any choices in football. But, at the minute I think we have got a choice so we would like to stay as a team. There are only four of us, we are really close-knit in terms of the size of the backroom staff. So, the ones I have got we enjoy working together, we work hard together and hopefully we can sort it all out together and remain as our part of the team for next year.
JP
And I suppose Eric has become a very important part of that with the way things have worked with the young lads coming through, although of course you had a hand in that yourself?
GA
Oh, I had a major hand in that, it is all down to me, if it wasn’t for me they wouldn’t be playing. No, he has been brilliant, Eric is a great guy, he has been brilliant. His enthusiasm for the job, not just in terms of his coaching but all the other stuff he brings is great. Because, we are so small in numbers we have to work exceptionally hard and have to be a master of all trades if you like, or jack of all trades is it and put our hands to different bits.
But, he does great in the recruitment work and stuff like that, he has brought these lads from all over the place in, and he has developed them to an extent. We have moved them on, they have done a great deal of work themselves but Eric has played a big part in that and I am delighted with what he has done for us. The success from last year is probably the young players and hopefully that will continue.
But, we accept year in and year out it is not dead easy to do, it is a difficult job he has got and some managers expect that every year. It can not be the case, I think the clubs like us the big boys sort of cream off the best, but we have done well in that respect over the last few years and Eric has had a really powerful season in terms of results, and that is great for us.
JP
There have been one or two rumours, and they are only that so I won’t go into clubs, linking Graham Kavanagh with other jobs. Obviously, with his contract up I suppose that would happen, are you aware of any interest in him and do you know if he wants to himself be the number one one day?
GA
I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, genuinely no idea what you are saying. It is the first time I have heard of that so I can’t really comment because you have put me on the spot a little bit with something I knew nothing about.
As far as I am concerned I spoke to him, he has been away for three days actually but I spoke to him the day he went away and he was doing his bits and pieces with John just like I am. We are trying to tie it all together and that is as far I know. I don’t really know where the rumours have come from and you probably shouldn’t be listening to rumours and maybe facts are maybe better.
JP
But, with him do you know if he has that desire to be the number one beyond the number two or is that the role that he is comfortable in? Have you had that sort of conversation with him about his long term future?
GA
I think every coach wants to be a number one at some point. I started off as a youth team coach wanting to be a number one, so I think Graham is in a group of coaches that I would think everyone 100% would want to be a number one at some point, so I don’t see him being any different. It is not something we have discussed or talked about.
JP
The players who you have offered contracts to, five players, I know it historically takes quite a while for them to come to decisions on these, but is anyone close, anyone giving you an indication?
GA
You are right with history, nobody is coming any closer. Listen, the agents take the deals off them and they digest them and have a little look round and offer those sorts of things to other people. I didn’t expect to hear anything from any of them, but I have had one or two phone calls from a couple of the players suggesting that things would be OK. So, we just have to wait and see and I don’t want to give you any bad news, but I can’t really give you any good news because there is no news at the moment.
It is a frustrating time for you guys and frustrating for the fans and frustrating for myself, because there isn’t really anything to give you. You are pushing me on stuff there in terms of rumours and speculation and I think that is where we are in the next three months, is rumours and speculation. I wouldn’t, I really wouldn’t, look too much into all that, let’s just talk about factual things that happen and not really what might happen or people would like to happen.
JP
Rumours and speculation are very exciting for fans over the summer though, that doesn’t mean I will get you going on that, factually do you have a feeling whether any of those you think are going to sign?
GA
Well, I can’t because they are not facts are they. I can’t tell you that because they aren’t facts. I am hopeful, we are hoping by the offers we made that they re-sign and that is part of the squad done and then we have got the other part, which is the new signings to do. So, I can’t give you that news if it is not there, and I would love to and we would love to offer the fans something every day. But, nothing happens every day, not at this club, not at any club.
But, when it does, as soon as it does Andy Hall will know and we will let you guys know and we will let the fans know. But, maybe you get sort of a week or ten days after the season has finished for the lads to have a look at them, the agents have a quick look at them and then you get an indication. At the minute we are not even to that ten day period yet.
JP
Have you set them a deadline for when you want answers from them?
GA
No, there is a league ruling that says they have x amount of time to do it. So, we just with the respect we have got both ways, I would think if it was a definite no they would give us an indication. But, we have had none of the definite no’s, so we have to give them the time that they are allowed. That happens at every club as well and we have to just wait and be a bit patient with that.
JP
So, the positive facts, no definite no’s just yet?
GA
Yeah, that is a good as it gets that we haven’t had a refusal, so at least it is no news at the minute. It is one of those, no news is probably good news but hopefully we can wrap some of that up and get it out in the open.
JP
Just on the durations of the contracts, one or two fans a bit surprised that you have only offered Lee Miller one year, as somebody who has seemingly been a prize asset over the last couple of years is there anything you can tell us on why it was just that one year offer?
GA
Because, that is all Lee wanted at the moment. I mean he might turn that one down, so really it is getting him to re-sign for this season. He has got a situation, a personal situation hasn’t he that everybody is well aware of. So, I don’t want to talk about individuals deals and that, but there is a lot of that involved in Lee’s deal.
If we can get Lee for another 12 months I am probably sitting here and being a really happy man because there is other interest from other clubs and he has got the personal situation in Scotland. So, listen, if I got him for 12 months we would be absolutely delighted. So, that is setting your stall out for two when we haven’t even got one, we can probably renew the two within the one easier, if you understand what I mean, than not having him here at all.
JP
And how was it releasing some players at the end of the season?
GA
It is tough with the fact that we have got a terrific relationship. Usually when you release players there is a backlash that this wasn’t right and that wasn’t right and this isn’t right. But, I don’t think there has been too much of that because they have I hope a healthy respect for me and I have a healthy respect for them and my backroom staff as well.
We treat them like men and we look after them properly and they enjoy their work, there are one or two who are upset because they really like it here and they wanted to pursue their careers here. But, we have to make tough decisions that we hope, we hope is the key, are the right ones. We believe we get a lot of them right, but people that are giving you their heart and soul and you have worked closely with over a period, I don’t find that easy.
I have no problem with doing it because that is what you have to do, but we are all different as individuals and I have got a real big human side to me and it was a tough week. But, we think we have handled it right, we think we have done it in the right and proper way and we genuinely, genuinely wish those players the very, very best. Hopefully they get fixed up quickly with good clubs and go on and carry on their careers.