United boss Greg Abbott (GA) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) following Carlisle's 2-1 League One win away to Scunthorpe, Abbott saying that he couldn't believe the Blues went into half-time 1-0 down :
JP
I will let my friend Graham kick us off, he has been in touch on the text, he says the way it was sounding in that first-half he put a tenner on us to come back from 1-0 down and win, and that is we did, thank you very much he says, and I am sure everyone else will agree?
GA
Yeah, I wish I was as confident as him, we just could not believe it at half-time going in behind. We just said that we have got to just keep playing more of the same, keep patient, keep playing the way we were, show total concentration defensively and we thought we would still win the game. The first-half was probably as good as I can remember in terms of chances created and efforts on goal but we couldn't find the net, and we can't even say it was bad finishing, it was unbelievable defending and the woodwork.
We come in at 1-0 down and it is one of them that you are so frustrated but you have got to give a positive half-time team-talk, which we did, and we said we were going to win the game boys if we keep going like we are. We didn't play as well as we did second-half but still overall we played terrifically well, and delighted we are going away from here with three points.
JP
Did you think at one stage the equaliser let alone the winner wasn't going to come?
GA
Erm, yeah, it was one of those games where you might have had your best chances but it was a great bit of play for the goal and a great finish. It is not an easy angle from where Bezza (James Berrett) has taken that and he has taken it brilliantly. Then I am delighted for Francois (Zoko), he has been frustrated at being on the touchline, but he has shown a great attitude just this last couple of weeks and he has got his goal and has won us the game. I still think we deserved to win it over the 90 minutes, that is what it is all about, and we are not going away embarrassed for taking a three pointer I can tell you.
JP
What were you thinking inside three minutes when they took the lead and Carlisle had never touched the ball at that stage?
GA
I just thought it was the only disappointing bit of the afternoon, it was really too easy into the frontman, I was going berserk on the touchline. Then Chris (Ribeiro) has let his runner run off him, he has been terrific again Chris since he has been here, and he is getting better, but he has let (Andy) Barcham run off him and you think all the preparation work, all the talk you have done in the dressing room is all out of the window. But, fair play to the lads, they battled back, and not just battled back, they were fantastic first-half, absolutely magnificent.
JP
I mean they really were, you said it is some of the best football you have seen them play, I mean is it some of the best football of your time as manager of Carlisle?
GA
You have to remember where we are and who we are playing against, and whilst there is a lack of confidence through the Scunny team there is an absolute boat-load of desire and determination. This is a club that is in the Championship only just and they are finding it tough at the minute, but there are enough good players there to make life difficult for any team. It will turn round, it will turn round, there are too many good players for it not, and to take that in consideration our first-half performance was for me absolutely fantastic.
JP
One man who perhaps some of the fans might not have spotted how key and crucial he was in there today, I am sure you as a manager will have done, was your captain Paul Thirlwell. He just seemed to any time Scunthorpe got on the ball and looked threatening he seemed to be the man stopping things?
GA
Well, we know what he can do, we know what Paul's role is and we know how organised he is and how he breaks up play. He really allowed Berrett and (Liam) Noble to run riot today in terms of supporting Lee (Miller) and getting into the attack. When things break down he picks them up and starts them off again, and it is a role that sometimes it is unseen, but we need start to giving a bit of credit where credit is due.
He was absolutely terrific and he rallies his team-mates, he dishes out the roastings and he dishes out the encouragements, and he is my captain and he has done ever so well for us over the piece. Listen, everybody is entitled to bad games, but I thought today he organised everybody and he allows the other players to play and get forward.
JP
Going out of the cup, your final cup competition last weekend, a bit of a blow to confidence and to the coffers as well, how much of a lift will a performance like this, but the result as well, have given everyone?
GA
I don't think it was a blow to confidence, we thought we did alright last week, it was the financial side of it that is the issue. But, with the squad we have got and the size of everything we have got maybe in hindsight it is maybe a decent thing that we.......... We have got to concentrate on the league now, because that is all we have got as it happens, but we have been wanting to be in amongst the top eight for a number of years, and we have gone steadily up from finishing on the last day of the season against Millwall to 14th to 12th, and hopefully this season we can improve on that, and that is the key to where we are going as a club.
JP
You said top eight there, I have been trying to help you out by saying top ten, are you starting to maybe set your sights a little higher now?
GA
No, we just have to keep winning games. If we can keep performing like that then we are going to win more than we lose, I will tell you, and then you don't know where you are going to go. But, there will always be a Carlisle United and an Orient and teams like that, and a Brentford that sneak into the big five. We have to hope it is us, but playing like that and with the unity within the club and the belief spreading to the terraces we think we have got a fighting chance, but let's not get carried away.
JP
The first time I have had a chance to speak to you since the news came out about Craig Curran, how is he after a bit of knee surgery?
GA
A lot better, it is going to be a six week job rather than a three month job, so he will get himself fit, well he won't get himself fit, he is already fit. But, he will get it right and do his recuperation and we will go from there.
JP
And Frank Simek, how close is he now?
GA
Yeah, Frank has joined in full training this week so he will be in the squad next week.