Greg Abbott On The Grays Win

Last updated : 29 November 2008 By Thetashkentterror

Greg Abbott
United caretaker manager Greg Abbott spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Derek Lacey after Carlisle's 2-0 win at Grays in the FA Cup today, Abbott more than happy with the attitude of his players at the moment :


" It is what we came for, today we wanted to come and do a job, We wanted to get into the next round, into the hat, and we have done that. We have got a game to look forward to now on Wednesday against Crewe. It has been a tough week but I think that the attitude and the spirit of the players is there for all to see, and I am really, really pleased with the boys today.

" Dennis (Booth) and certainly myself have just gone at them in a little bit of a different way. We have actually got a little bit angry and a little bit uptight with them, we have put a bit of pressure on to actually know what to expect. You come to a non-league place and you make sure that you go and battle like a non-league side for the first 15 or 20 minutes.

" You don't give anything away, you press and tackle and fight and play the ball a little bit longer earlier in the game. We got angry with them and they responded to that, I said that if you play like a non-league side to start with then you will end up playing like a league side at the end because you have earned the right to do that. I think that overall we did that in the game.

" What we were concerned about in the two other games was how easy it was for getting the ball from back to front from their defenders. We thought that if we put them under pressure with pace, strength and height that we have got, today early on in the game we stopped that and we could play our game higher up the field. I thought that we did that terrifically well and Gary (Madine) and Danny (Graham) have worked their socks off, complemented well again with the hardworking displays from Jeff (Smith) and Cleveland (Taylor) on the other side. "



" What happens in this football generally, I am not talking about all of it but generally in the non-league they get the balls into the box as often and as early as they can. You have got to stand and be brave, there are elbows flying about, there are challenges flying around. I thought that Danny (Livesey) and Richard (Keogh) coped with that really well, and to be fair it probably suits them because they like that sort of battle.

" They had some decent players to be fair, the left-winger (Ishmael Welsh) has caused David Raven a couple of problems, he has got a bit of pace. As you would expect, the work-rate that they put in, and the effort that they put in is always going to give you a chance in every game. Today they had their chances in the game, but I thought that overall we were the better side and probably deserved the victory.

" Bridgey (Marc Bridge-Wilkinson) is a bit upset with himself because his penalty would have killed the game off as well. I am a bit upset with him too but it is OK, it is better to miss it when you win a game 2-0 than miss and it costs you something out of the game. It wasn't to be but we had other chances as well where maybe we could have wrapped it all up. We have got the two goals though, we are pleased with that, we have got another clean sheet which is really important and a minute and a half from Millwall we would have had three on the spin, which two or three weeks ago looked a hard task.

" Ben (Williams) has come in, he has kept a clean sheet, he can do no more and we are pleased with that. We are just pleased overall with the attitude of the players, it's not pretty, it's not always pretty, look at the whole place here, it is never going to be pretty. You have to look at the pitch, you have to look at the opposition's surroundings, look at the travelling and everything that we have done, and think that we have done a good job here today. I am really, really pleased with the boys. "



" It's horses for courses, we have come in here and we think that we have got the tactics right, we think that we have got the players prepared right and we think that the attitude of them in reply was absolutely spot on. So in that manner you think that everything has been fine, the job has been done, we have got our result, we have got two goals away from home, we have got our victory, we are in the next round of the cup, and a clean sheet.

" John (Welsh) is going to go back to Hull now, we have got players fit now and ready. John is a terrific fellow, I have got a lot of time for him, and he has come into the club at a difficult time. We haven't had a bit of trouble with him though, he has come in from a Premier League club, we have left him out, not a problem. We have put him on as a substitute in two or three games and he has done a terrific job. I like the lad a lot and the way that he is as a character is very good, he will go back with our best wishes and you never know what might happen later on.

" Chris Lumsdon is back too, it has been a really frustrating time for Chris hasn't it. He has come on and he has got his four or five minutes, he couldn't wait, he couldn't get his kit on quick enough. It is great to see him back on the pitch though and we are pleased with that as well. I like the attitude of the players, I like the way that we are doing things at the minute and let's just hope that other people do as well.

" We think that Michael Liddle will be available for Wednesday, but we are not sure about Tim Krul or Chris Birchall. We are going to try to persuade the other two clubs to let us have them available for the cup ties. I think that Tim Krul is going to be a doubtful one but we have got a chance with Chris Birchall. "