Greg Abbott - Radio Cumbria Interview Part Two

Last updated : 04 June 2009 By Thetashkentterror

Greg Abbott
United caretaker manager Greg Abbott was BBC Radio Cumbria's studio guest on Friday evening as he went back over the events earlier this week that saw former Blues boss John Ward exit Brunton Park on Monday morning, Abbott first talking about Cumbrians striker Michael Bridges in part two of the interview :


" The main thing for us is to get Michael Bridges properly fit, he has had so many niggling injuries, little bits and pieces that have stopped him getting himself in tip-top form. I don't need to tell anybody, everyone has seen what Michael Bridges did before and has seen what he has done earlier on in his career.

" He has got absolute class and we need Michael and we have already spoken to Michael about the major part he can play in the upheavel of Carlisle's fortunes. As soon as we get him fit we will be getting him involved in the squad and hopefully then he comes on the pitch and he can add that spark and that little bit of invention to what we already have. Then that will hopefully see us push up and get a few results and move us up the table.

" We have got Kav (Graham Kavanagh) in for another month, who is a strong character and he is a very good player. He has played at a very good level and if we get the likes of Kav in the team and we get a few more of the injured players back, a few of the hardened criminals I call them. People that know the game inside out and have got a lot of experience, Michael is one of them, we need all the experienced players there playing and playing to the best that they can.

" Michael will be frustrated though as well himself, that he has not got himself 100% fit now and had a real good run at it without picking up little niggles, little thigh strains here and little calf strains there. As soon as he is fit and well though we will integrate him into the team. Kav had a bit of a stomach upset on Monday and Tuesday but he has trained today and he will be fine for tomorrow.

" At the minute we would like to jiggle around with players and shake the squad up a little bit. At the moment we have got a number of players that we need to maybe move on, a couple of players that we need to move on to make some room to bring in other players. Financially we have got a big squad so it does make a massive impact on what we do. I would like to bring in one or two to shake things up though and jiggle things around. "



" It was Joe (Anyinsah) that I brought to the club from Preston when we had him for the temporary spell. I think that if people see, well obviously people did see his performances, I remember his performance at Bournemouth away when I thought that he was absolutely outstanding. Reports suggest, and we have kept in touch with the things that Joe has been doing, and apparently he has been Brighton's best player. So Joe would be one that we would consider and good players like that we would be interested in, if you can work it then we would look to do things like that.

" We are interested in a lot of quality but at the moment we have got an abundance of strikers, we have got six or seven strikers. If you were to bring Karl (Hawley) in, and people are asking for Michael Bridges to play, if you bring Karl in then that is another striking slot gone already. What we don't want to do is have too many players in the same position, but players of Karl's ability and quality would always interest us.

" It is a matter of bringing them in at the right time and to fit into what we have already got. So at the moment Karl is doing reasonably well where he is and that situation, if it changed later on in the season then we would look at it. At the moment though we think that we are OK in that department, the striking department.

" We have tried to raise the tempo of the training, tried to increase the intensity in shorter spells so that they are working really hard and then they rest, work them really hard and then they rest, stuff like that. The reaction from the players though has been terrific, Monday and Tuesday were really good days and we have then eased off and done more work on the opposition on Thursday. Then we have had a really bright session today where they have a short spell and then we have done the set-pieces and one thing and another.

" Looking at them in the training, they are a very good group training-wise so what we need to do is make sure that we don't leave our play on the training field and take it into games. Because they are receptive on the training ground but it is obviously no good having a team of good trainers if they are not good players on the pitch. We need to get that performance translated to the pitch tomorrow. "



" Kevin (Gall) does have a tremendous work-rate but Kevin at the moment is with Lincoln until the end of the year and that situation will be looked at when that finishes. At the moment though we are loaded with players in that position and Kevin's situation will be reviewed at the end of the year. I'd rather not give the team away for tomorrow just this early, but obviously Ben (Alnwick) is not playing so which goalkeeper to play is a decision that will have been made. Everyone will be aware of that come tomorrow at 3pm.

" I think that any club in League One would miss players of that calibre (Keiren Westwood and Joe Garner). Joe is a terrific player isn't he and Keiren is emerging as one of the outstanding goalkeepers in the Championship. So I think that any club, clubs right at the top of our league, would miss those two players, so yes we have missed them because they are absolutely top quality.

" We thought that Michael Bridges might come in and do a similar quality to Joe Garner. He is a different type but he is in a similar area, he makes things happen. Joe was a special talent though, there are not many of his type about that are as brave as him and his terrific timing with his heading. He has got a really good awareness, he is tough, those sort of players don't come cheap.

" Financially it is an issue, to get something as good as Joe for similar money would have been very difficult. You look at what is available though, and Michael has come in and if we can get him fit and get him on the field then he will add a impact, different to Joe Garner's impact, but hopefully just as effective.

" In the initial period what we are trying to do is consolidate our position at the moment in terms of getting results. I have got Dennis (Booth) alongside me and I have got a lot of respect for Dennis, he is a wily old fox is Dennis, he knows the game inside out. He is terrific on the sidelines, he is terrific in his knowledge of players and teams. What I would do is maybe in the long-term would be to maybe bring a younger coach in to assist me on the training ground and let Dennis do the other bits and pieces that he is good at. "



" I think that a three-man team though with everybody having their own specialities would be perfect. Whether we can do that in the long-term, it is a little bit down the line but it was something that I have certainly thought about. We do I think eventually, if I did get the job, I would need help on the training ground, and a younger coach, a dynamic coach would be something that I would be looking for. Somebody that can really instil enthusiasm and energy into the playing squad.

" There is no friction in the ranks but there are a number of players in the club, and obviously we can't play them all, we can only play eleven. It is never over-healthy to have too big a squad you know, so it may be an area where we look to do some work. Maybe trimming down in terms of quantity and go with fewer numbers.

" Sorting out player contracts is another important contributory factor of why the position needs to be appointed in a short-term period. To give everybody a fair opportunity, myself, the fans, the speculation and the rumours with the players, their situation. We need to do things quickly and I have given the board my opinion, I have been brave this time, I have done it before and I have been brave this time to say that this is what I think. I know that ultimately results dictate what happens in football, I appreciate that.

" I got myself really uptight last time because I was really keen to do it. I thought that the results went really well, we were starting to play some decent football. I thought that the night at Hartlepool was terrific, the game at Huddersfield away and the Bournemouth performance. Yes we had a few that we didn't play so great in but that is this league all over.

" I am not that bad this time though, what I am being this time is that I am being brutally honest with everybody. I think that honesty spreads right throughout the whole club to say that this is what we need to do and this is what should be done. In order to stop all the speculation, to stop all the rumours, to stop all the uncertainty, and I think that the fans, the board, the players, myself, everybody deserves that. That something is done quickly so that we can all get on with taking Carlisle forward. I think that fans at the end of the day would appreciate that, that they want to see something happen quickly. "



" If it is going to be me and that is the case then fine, I would assume that they would back me early doors. If things don't go right then they will be on my back just the same as they are any other manager. I accept that and I am honest enough to go with that, but the issue with the players and the issue with the rumours and the speculation, it must be done quickly because then they are the important situation as regards this football club.

" I would think that bringing players like Zigor Aranalde back would be the wrong thing to do. Zigor is reaching the stage of his career where he is going the other way and possibly hoping to go into coaching and managing. We have got to be careful of where we go in terms of bringing players in, and I think that Zigor, who was a fantastic player, I got on with Zigor unbelievabely well. He is a terrific football player and fantastic dedication to it, but I think that we have got to be careful in terms of age-groups where we go with a considerable amount of players.

" There is no problem with having the team huddles again, I think that doing this again is something that I will leave with Danny (Livesey). We do our little piece when we have done the warm-up and Danny Livesey and Paul Thirlwell are the two captains at the present, so they will take care of that themselves.

" The fans are massively important to what we do here aren't they, if they can come down tomorrow and give us the benefit of the doubt to start with. Get behind the team and see what we are trying to do over a period, it would be brilliant. Passion is a word that is high on my agenda, I think that what I have got to do is make the fans believe and make the fans enjoy coming down. We are not going to win every game, we know that, but we will be trying, we will be trying to perform every game and to send people home with something to talk about.

" Send them home with enthusiasm flying through the terraces again where things aren't dull, things are exciting one way or the other. It is a winning industry, we have got to start winning games, I appreciate all that but what we are going to do is send some energy flying through and some enthusiasm. If we can do that then I would think that results won't be long to follow that. I appreciate all the support from the fans and hopefully we will start off on a winning track tomorrow and improve this season. "