John Ward - Radio Cumbria Interview

Last updated : 30 January 2008 By Thetashkentterror

John Ward
United boss John Ward spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Derek Lacey on Tuesday morning, Ward looking back at the Cheltenham defeat and looking forward to the Oldham game, as well as talking about Carlisle's form in general :


" It's difficult to pinpoint the difference between the home form and the away form, I think that the form has been slightly different as well. Where we have got players firing at home sometimes the same sort of players are not firing in the same manner away from home. That's the people factor, it's not that people are trying any less, I think the one thing that can't be thrown at us on Friday is that we didn't try. I think that there was a hell of a lot of effort and determination and commitment about trying to get in there.

" Particularly chasing in the second-half, the Cheltenham boys were saying at the end of the game that they put us through it. We did but we couldn't find a goal, where they have been, easy is not the right word, goals are not easy, but where we have been finding them at home we can't find that clinical touch away from home. Particularly in the last four games where we've not scored a goal ourselves, which is quite amazing really because we're pretty much an attacking side that goes forward with a bit of quality. That was missing I felt on Friday, I was asked why we didn't get our goal and why it was so.

" We just felt that that final bit of quality, the shot or the cross or the bit of play, I don't put it down to luck either, but that little bounce somewhere dropping for you or whatever didn't happen our way. We've got to keep our belief and keep our resolve and not let that grind us down, because that way it won't happen for us. If we can retain the determination and the effort that was put in on Friday from the boys, and just pick up on that little bit more quality around the final part of the pitch then we'll look to get that result right.

" It is frustrating because sometimes you can get confirmation when you look at the video of what your own eyes tell you. I don't change my view from immediately after the game talking to you as to watching it in a more quieter mood and thinking that that is exactly what happened. We've got in good positions to deliver final balls, for instance you get Simon (Hackney) to deliver a ball and he puts it behind the goal.

" You think that on his left foot in a good position, it's those little things, it's difficult to explain, it's not normal if you like for Simon but it does happen. You'll see players in the Premier League do it on the highlights at the weekend and it does happen to people. What we have to do is retain our resolve, keep those guys getting into those positions and encourage them to do so, and by doing that it will come back that way. "



" It is vital, in a sense, for a striker to get a goal because it can go for a number of games and I was a striker in the good old days myself. You go through your periods where they come relatively quickly and count up nicely but then there are other periods where you can't find one and you can't buy one, and you can't see where it is going to come from sometimes. Again, you have to keep digging in with it, sometimes, and I'm not talking about Danny (Graham) in particular but sometimes you may have to come out just to freshen yourself up and then come back again and double up your efforts.

" It's sticking together, individually the big thing is, it's having the belief in yourself, Danny has stuck nine goals away and he's been stuck on nine for quite a lot of games now, which again is quite incredible in itself. The goals are in there, we know they are in there and it's just working hard for him, and him working hard and me working hard along with the coaching staff to try to encourage them to come through again.

" I didn't go to the Oldham game at the weekend but someone else was there and I've got the report on it. They did pretty well, although Huddersfield did a good job on them in terms of getting their result for the FA Cup tie. Again, they'll have Lee Hughes back, he wasn't available on Saturday but I'm pretty sure he is back in contention for tomorrow and I'm sure he'll play him, and that will make them stronger at the front end of their team.

" We've got to work hard to stay in the top six and that's all I've ever said. If we can do that by the end of May then we'll all be really, really pleased, but we've got to just stick with it when we have these difficult ones where you think that it is a bad result. We've bounced back here before, even in my time here we had a couple of bad ones over Christmas and bounced back with a couple of wins at home. It would be right to try to improve this away form, and it would be good for me as well, we all want that to happen so we are working hard to try to do it.

" Again, I have just sat for a few minutes with the staff this morning before you came in and we were saying that we have had eighteen attempts away at Cheltenham. Eighteen attempts away from home anywhere is a good account, and you would expect somewhere in those eighteen attempts there is a goal to come out of it.

" We've got to stick with it, and we actually had eighteen attempts in the previous game against Crewe and we only got the one goal out of it. It's important that we stick with it, like we did against Crewe, and find that one goal, and find that one goal if we can at Oldham. The purpose of saying this is that you've got to keep pushing to get those eighteen attempts and it's not always easy. "