John Ward - Radio Cumbria Interview

Last updated : 17 November 2007 By Thetashkentterror

John Ward
United boss John Ward spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria on Friday evening as he chatted about a blank weekend coming up for the Cumbrians, Ward first talking about any thoughts of Blues goalkeeper Keiren Westwood leaving the club during the January transfer window :


" He (Keiren Westwood) is a very good young goalkeeper. People do their jobs very well in this country, there are a lot of people watch football all the time. Big clubs have got scouts everywhere, not just in this country but they corner the European and the World market now. So people will know about goalkeepers at this level in League One certainly and they'll know that we have got a good one. I don't whether it will happen or not but we've certainly got a good young keeper on our hands.

" The quality in the last 30 yards of the pitch has been poor for me, we've delivered a lot of crosses and ball into the opponents half. I've had a good look at both those games in quite keen detail really. We've had twice as many shots or attempts on goal as our opponents over Grimsby and Stockport but we haven't hit the target enough times.

" We've got to improve that quality in the last 30 yards of the pitch to me, which is not a major problem because I think it was there prior to those two matches. The results have highlighted the fact though that we have not been able to maintain that level of quality. That's something that we've worked at today and we'll continue to do so.

" People who have not been day-in and day-out as professional footballers don't realise they aren't robots, in the same way that we don't realise what guys like electricians and plumbers go through. The only difference with their jobs is that no-one is actually trying to stop them doing it, in football we've always got opponents who physically are trying to stop us being at our best.

" I think we do a disservice, certainly to Grimsby and Stockport, if we think that their managers, coaches and players are not organised and clued-in. Which obviously we found out they were, and not only that but they have got some decent footballers. So we've got to try very hard to be putting our level of ability on as many games as we can over a 46 game league season. Certainly over the cup ties, they are one-off situations which we've got to work very hard at. "



" Everybody has off-days and off-periods and don't feel quite right with the job that they are doing but when footballers do it it's very public and very much in the eye of everybody. I noticed the disappointment immediately in the dressing room after the game, it's the first time in my short time here that I've seen that in their faces. Gosh, these guys are really hurt, and really upset and disappointed.

" We've picked that back up in training. The one thing that I do insist upon is that when we come back to training the chins are up, the people are smiling, we say good morning, we don't avoid each other and we really get back to work as strongly as we can. Certainly today was an excellent session and I'm looking for that to push on on Monday and obviously on Tuesday in the game against Grimsby.

" I don't doubt that they will, there was no lack of effort on behalf of the players, even in the two games we didn't succeed in. There was no lack of trying in there and if we can just improve that wee bit of quality then we'll give ourselves a good chance of getting better results.

" It is a shame now that we are not playing this weekend. It's a strange one but we couldn't have it both ways. We wanted the game, we said originally that we wanted to play Nottingham Forest and it would have been a good game for us regardless of the cup tie coming up on Tuesday. We haven't got it though and I can't grumble about it, it's happened and I can't control it so we've tried our best to prepare our team now. We've got a chance to have a breather, we are going to take the two days off but I've asked them then to come in on Monday and we hit the ground running ready for Tuesday.

" Everybody is fit and well which is great. Even Paul Thirlwell is getting back to some level of fitness and we're hoping that within a week or so's time we'll be seeing him in a shirt and playing in eleven v eleven which is really good news. There is a plus side of that but I think it is about the same sort of group that have been used all the time, they just need a little bit of breathing space. So that they can get back on and on Monday and Tuesday and we can really go for it.

" I'll be having a look at some football this weekend as the rest of the staff will and we like to do that as well. Everyone will be out, Dennis (Booth), Greg (Abbott), everyone will be out looking at football and just picking up bits and pieces and coming back with information together as next week starts. "