United boss Greg Abbott (GA) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) following Carlisle's 3-1 League One defeat away to Bournemouth, Abbott disappointed that the Blues couldn't see out the season undefeated:
JP
A great effort today, really, really hard opposition and at times it looked like you were going to get this result?
GA
Yeah, we have just said to the boys in there that we are all disappointed you know, because we wanted to finish the season unbeaten. But, there were a lot of positives out there from our players and we just showed that the gap between the two sides wasn’t as great as many people might think. I thought we were terrific in the first-half, with the chances we created in the first-half we could have really made an impact on this game.
But, I thought we deserved to get back in the game when we did with Lee Miller’s goal, and we maybe just ran out of a little bit of steam later on in the game. But, it is Bournemouth’s day to be fair, it is Bournemouth’s day and we tried our best to make sure that we did things right, and I don’t think anybody can criticise us for that. I thought the application and the attitude of the players was absolutely first class, I am so pleased with them, you wouldn’t believe how pleased I am. I am really disappointed with the result but so, so pleased with them.
I think we have got a lot to look forward to at this club, I really do, and we have got to get everybody behind us and everybody thinking as positively as we all do at the club. We know there is a lot of hard work ahead but we are going to get stuck into it and hopefully one day these sorts of scenes might be ours, and that is what we are in the game for.
JP
I was going to say, that is the thing, you have experienced a couple of teams’s promotion parties over the last couple of years haven’t you including Charlton of course, looking out there the hope will be for everyone that that can be us soon?
GA
Well, that is what everybody aspires to. Regardless of what anybody thinks we set off now wanting to win the league next year, so if we don’t win it we want to come second, if we don’t come second we want to come third. But, we want to continue a lot of the good work that is going on, and we have had a tough time this season with all sorts of different things.
We have got one more game to go and hopefully we will win that and we will have a good summer, a really positive summer. We will try to get players that we think can improve what we have got and let’s see if we can have our own party sometime.
JP
Was it a joy to give a youngster (Alex Salmon) his professional debut as well today?
GA
Yeah, it is always nice things like that, there are good and bad things in football but seeing his face when I said he was going to go on for 10 or 15 minutes, I think that is one of the better parts of the job. It is good, but we have got a lot of young players that are doing alright, I thought Brad Potts was terrific again today, and I think maybe people watching him there, I know there is one club came to watch him today.
So, we have got to do our best to see if we can keep hold of all these now, and that is a great sign of the progression they have made. But, I think he has been a revelation in that position, I think he has been outstanding. Mark Gillespie again has had another really good game, and I thought it was a fantastic game today and I thought both sides contributed. It could quite easily have been 3-1 to us, but it wasn’t to be, but a lot of good signs.
JP
A touch of real quality from two players made it 3-1 and that added a bit of gloss for Bournemouth and it was hard on Carlisle I thought?
GA
Yeah, that is what you pay for, (Brett) Pitman, I think they signed him for £400,000 or something like that. Harry Arter has developed his game since he came back, I think we were a turning point in Harry’s career to be honest and he said that to me, when he got his football, when he needed it most. But, I think he has turned into a really, really good player, but Pitman is a class act anywhere near the goal, and that is what the extra finance gets you, it gets you extra quality. They did have some quality out there but I thought we matched them for loads of the game.
JP
Yeah, in the middle of the park James Berrett and Liam Noble were really fighting it out, there was very little difference in terms of quality between them and that was a compliment to them?
GA
Yeah, I don’t think you will see four better ball playing midfield players than those four today, I thought they were terrific, all four of them had good games. It is very rare, you usually have two on one side and not two on the other, but I thought that the openness of the game and the speed and the pace of the game, and the way we tried to pass it and the way they tried to pass it was a credit to all the players out there. We have certainly, like I said, more than competed for the cause today.
JP
At half-time the fans that were in front of us, we were right in the middle of the Bournemouth fans so it was a good job they were friendly, but they said Carlisle were the better side, at full-time they side Carlisle were unlucky and that they are going to have a good year next year, and that is coming from the opposition. I suppose it is little things like that that you can try to build on?
GA
Yeah, we have just had people out there, I have just been out to the coach to see all the results come in, and a lot of people are saying that we were the best side to come here this season, which is fantastic. People say we have nothing to play for, that is a credit to the players that they have done the job properly.
Like I said, there wasn’t a great margin between the sides, fantastic, and then if the Bournemouth fans are saying that it is better than me saying it isn’t it, because it looks like I am maybe being slightly biased. But, I thought we were terrific today, I really do, I am happy for Bournemouth, a bit disappointed for our result, but we move on, there is a lot to build on.
JP
And I won’t keep you much longer because they are all celebrating and I am sure you will want to get away from that, but just the class act that are your fans, they stayed and waited until the confirmation came through that Bournemouth were up and then applauded them. I mean when you have come this far to watch a game of football, that must take a bit to do that?
GA
I think our fans are as good as any in this division, I really do. We take our hats off to them, and we wanted to get out but it was impossible to get out to thank them. But, we will do it all next week and for the ones that can’t get there because they are southern based, well take it from me that this is a thank you for us to them for all they have done for us this season.
They have carried us in a lot of places in numbers and next week we will thank everybody where we can on our own ground. Let’s hope we can go out with a bit of a blaze of glory ourselves. But, they are top drawer are the fans, absolutely top drawer, and they have contributed to a day where it is not really our day, it is Bournemouth’s day. But, I think everybody from Carlisle can be sort of pleased with what we have contributed to this day in our terms.