United boss Greg Abbott (GA) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) following Carlisle's 3-1 League One defeat at home to Sheffield United, Abbott saying the Blues need to stop shooting themselves in the foot by conceding so many goals:
JP
I seem to ask you this every week at the moment, but what did you make of that? What can you tell us?
GA
I mean, we go back to the same old thing, until we stop shipping goals we are going to shoot ourselves in the foot. There is a lot honesty out there, for large parts of the game we didn’t match Sheffield United, the two wide players, certainly Nick (Blackman) caused us all sorts of problems. We talked about it during the week and you can talk until you are blue in the face, but people have to deal with situations and keep people away from our goal, and always near our goal we have to defend better.
If we don’t ultimately we are going to put ourselves on the back foot, and we are in the game at 2-1. In the second-half we have come out of the traps and been a bit unlucky not to get one before we do score. We are in the game at 2-1 and we are just getting a head of steam up and then we give the corner away cheaply, it is a poor back header and then we don’t defend the ball. To be honest I can’t talk too much about the goal because I couldn’t really see what happened, whether it hit the goalkeeper and spun up, or whether it just hit somebody on the leg and spun up.
We should defend the near post better, we should gather the ball in the six yard area better and then somebody should be marking (Neill Collins), but that does happen. The game is over then and all the impetus that we had, and all the energy that we channelled into the second-half has gone. We feel a bit disappointed because we have competed for large parts against a really good side and given a decent account of ourselves. But, it is when you are down you have to stop the ball going in your net, and we have talked about this too often.
JP
I won’t go into all the tweets because you will imagine there are some very disappointed people tonight, but just one here that I think really needs addressed, our last ten home games, this is from Ryan Blaylock, goals conceded are 3,3,3,4,2,4,1,4,2,3, unacceptable and no surprise fans aren’t returning?
GA
There is no answer to that is there, the facts are there, I will never argue with facts, I come back with facts when people give us criticism, but that is a fact. I have questioned the back four and I have questioned the goalkeeper there in the dressing room to say, listen, we allow people to get too close to our goal unchallenged. We seem to concede goals that we don’t seem to get ourselves, and we are asking the question of back four now if we are going to get further forward then we have to defend better.
We have tried to protect them with a midfield player sat in front, we have played three across the middle, we have played four across the middle. But, ultimately you need to have people capable of doing their jobs and we have come up short in that department. Again, full responsibility to myself, it is me that picks the team, it is me that shapes it up. I can say that we haven’t had this player or that player, but ultimately the players that go in there have got to be able to do their jobs.
If they can’t we have to make some changes and fiddle about with it, but I believe that was the best we had available, still conceded three goals so three goals isn’t great. You look at their back four and it was very tough to get anywhere into them, but we did it, but we had to work a lot harder than they did to get into ours.
JP
In the build-up to the match somebody tweeted in, it was Matt I think on twitter, and said that looking at that team that looks strong, I am quite optimistic today. Did you feel that you got enough fight, I know that you talk about fight and spirit but when people are calling for your job do you feel that you got enough fight. It seemed a little bit in commentary……………..
GA
There was no question about fight there today.
JP
Well, it seemed in commentary that they didn’t really get going until (Dave) Symington hit the post with a shot, as much as they would, closing down that second ball and terrorising and really getting the crowd with them?
GA
I have just talked about it haven’t I, closing the ball down close to our goal, and for that you question players whether they can do that. They haven’t done it, we haven’t done it, the two goals, certainly the goal from the free-kick we stood back, we switch off, and then the next thing you know the ball is in the back of our net. But, I think there was a lot of fighting spirit out there, certainly there was.
JP
Did you feel that they were producing enough then before that effort hit the post?
GA
I don’t think there is much in………….. They have got two really, really poor goals, apart from that I don’t think we have had too much danger to deal with. I think you are looking at three situations where the ball has gone in into our net cheaply and you take all the positives out of the game and they did away. But, they have caused Sheffield United a lot of problems second-half, we have hit the post, we have hit the bar, the keeper has made two wonder saves, we have had a couple of shots, scrimmages round the net.
We are talking about playing a team that is second in the table aren’t we you know and we have asked them a lot of questions. Yeah, they have found a way through too easy, I am agreeing with you, I am not arguing with you, they have found a way too easily in our box, but I think there was a lot of spirit and we have asked them a lot of questions second-half. But, then we have given them a goal further and it knocks all the stuffing out of us and it makes it look like a ………
We could be talking about a 2-2 here and everybody is saying what a fantastic recovery and all the spirit and determination is there, but we are not, we are not. But, that is the margins between football and I am not going to deride the team for showing a lack of effort, I think that was probably wide of the mark.
JP
I agree with you entirely that they didn’t have that many chances, and you have already acknowledged that they scored too easily, but just looking at the pattern of my notes here, and I am not saying I see and write down everything, but it all seemed to happen sort of after the hour mark, and when you got going, when Symington hit the post and (Paul) Thirlwell had the shot that went for the corner that (Danny) Livesey scored from it started happening, you were on top of them, you were dominating them, the crowd were with you, it just didn’t seem to be there before that though?
GA
I have just answered your question, you are asking me the same question again, I have just answered it once.
JP
OK, Chris Chantler, you switched him into midfield there, a lot of people have been calling for that, you then took him off at half-time, is that struggling with his injury or was it tactical?
GA
You can see why we took him off, I don’t need to say why we took him off. He never got involved in the game at all.
JP
I think some people might think that was a bit unfair from him having moved him from left-back where he had been one of our best players?
GA
But, that happens, we sometimes have to do things that suit the team and suit the team-shape. We wanted Matty (Robson’s) pace and strength up against Blackman, Chris has been outstanding at left-back, he has been one of the most consistent players we have got. But, he never got involved in the game so you have to make a change, I am not going to play a team around an individual that is struggling, he was really struggling first-half and he didn’t get into the game, it is as simple as that. We are talking about making decisions in a game situation that are going to benefit the team, and that benefitted the team.
JP
And also I suppose that answers the question because a lot of people have been saying that is where you should be playing him?
GA
Well, eventually he might develop into a midfield player, in this type of game when we couldn’t get on the ball and when he did have the ball he gave away it cheaply, Chris will know he has not had his best of games, it happens, it is not a criticism, it is a fact, he didn’t play very well today. But, that happens and going from one position to the other takes some time to adapt, and one thing we haven’t got at the minute is time to worry about his impact.
He will be alright, he will bounce back, he could be back in the team next week quite comfortably. I don’t know where but the more games you play in a certain area the more you get……….. He has adapted to left-back hasn’t he because he has been playing there on a regular basis, and he probably didn’t adapt to the switch as easily as I thought he might, as simple as that.
JP
OK, yeah, fair answer to the question, what about the third goal, you admit you didn’t quite see what happened, we didn’t really in commentary, did it look like Mike Edwards could have maybe cleared that one as the ball went in?
GA
Again I would have to see it, you are asking me questions in a split second, I thought that we should maybe get closer to the cross in the first place. Obviously, it was one of those that goes unchallenged right into the far corner, I would have to see where Mike’s position was from just from the high speed, I have only seen it in live play, I have not seen it again, I couldn’t really answer that until I have seen it again.
JP
OK, Adam Collin, two fans actually came up to the box at the end of the game, not tweets, not texts, came up and said when are we going to sort the goalkeeping out, and one of them said when are we going to replace Adam Collin?
GA
That is decisions I have to sleep on, I am not going to come up here and berate anybody. We will talk about that, we pick teams to try to win games and if I think a change is due in any area of the pitch, any position, then I will make it.
JP
You and the board talked a lot and were very honest about things at the fans forum last night, are they are going to be able to back you as we draw towards Christmas financially with things like Kallum Higginbotham going back if you do need bodies in?
GA
I have got bodies, I have got bodies haven’t I. I have got Peter Murphy, I have got James Berrett, I have got Lee Miller, I have got Rory Loy and I have got Frankie Simek all ready to come in. When we have got those four players fit then we have got enough quality and enough strength in the team in the depth in the club to get out of this position. We said that, we talked about it all night, but we had five players not playing today that beat this side last season, now five players out of a side like Carlisle United would damage anybody and make life hard for anybody. When we get them back we will be a lot stronger than we were today.
JP
But, they weren’t here today?
GA
But, they will be. They will be fit, they will be fit, there is not a bottomless pit there, we have a budget which we work to, that is the amount of money we have got and within that if we are going to get anybody in or out then we have to do some jiggling about. There is not any more extra money probably to bring extra people in at this particular moment, but there is money there to spend, there is an amount of money to spend which we do spend and which they allow me to spend. But, we are talking about four players, all experienced, all a big part of what we are trying to do and when they are fit we are a better side. It proved that because we beat this side with those players in it last year.
JP
At 2-1 one fan felt that you should have brought on Rory Loy, it would have given the crowd and maybe the team a lift, was that in your mind at that stage when you were pressing to try to get the equaliser?
GA
It was, we would have done, I was going to take one of the back four off and go with three at the back and throw Rory on as an extra striker, but just as we were about to do it they scored the third goal which denies us that opportunity to do it. But, we were going to throw him on just to see if he could nick a goal from somewhere and play with another striker on the pitch. But, just as that happens they scored the other goal, so it was well enough for us.
JP
I have to ask you this one, given that it is another defeat, it is four on the trot at home in League One, are you confident that you are going to be able to turn this around?
GA
We have talked about it, I need my players back and we are a different team. We are a better team, with everybody fit we are going to be a better team. Listen, this is a tough opposition, you are talking about Sheffield United by the way, they are a strong side whether we like it or not. If it was one of the weaker sides and we put in an inept performance then we would be upset.
I am upset with the amount of goals, of course we are, we have got to stop that, individuals have been highlighted there in the dressing room to say, listen, we must defend better, we must make life harder to get to our goal. But, we will sort this out, we will turn it round and we start again next week.
JP
But, they were clearly effective Sheffield United with the things that they did, but they weren’t the best side we have seen here at Brunton Park, you were in the game and that 18 minute spell in the second-half you were the better team, you had it in you but it didn’t quite happen?
GA
You are right, they are effective, big, strong and effective, they are not pretty to watch, they are effective, you have just actually said what they are, effective.
JP
But, you had that spell in there, the fans saw that spell and they saw that you could be the better team on the pitch, it was just disappointing that it wasn’t for more of the game?
GA
They have lost two games all season, so they are not bad.
JP
OK, what about next time out, you are into a run of games, very interesting games coming up now, very important games for you against teams that you really have to pick up points from?
GA
Yeah, you are right, another fact.
JP
You are confident you are going to get points from those games now?
GA
We keep going, we keep working as hard as we can, we just work as hard as we can and we go. On the road we have got a decent record and we have got two games we can really look forward to competing and trying to get the results we need.