John Ward - Radio Cumbria Interview

Last updated : 09 April 2008 By Thetashkentterror

John Ward
United boss John Ward spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Derek Lacey on Monday morning as he talked about the last-gasp 2-1 win over Yeovil at the weekend, Ward also looking ahead to the big top-of-the-table clash at home to Swansea City :


" The weekend finished up really well for us, it was nail-biting to say the last but if you are going to achieve anything then it's not bad to get your winner in the 93rd minute. It gives nobody a chance to come back, but I don't want to be leaving it that long all the time. That said though, I think that is shows the resilience of the team. I said to the dressing-room afterwards that one thing about us is that we don't go away.

" We've hung on for points, at Swindon we came back from being a goal down when we were under a lot of pressure there, those types of things. We've played very well at (Leyton) Orient, we've shown different ways of winning games of football and Saturday was another one. Where we had to work very, very hard right through to the bitter end, but we got the result we wanted, and it takes us into a massive game now on Tuesday.

" I think at about 5.10pm I understand that he (Gary Madine) texted Eric Kinder to say that he'd laid on the ball for the winning goal, so that's how excited that young man was. He might not show it too much on the pitch but afterwards he was straight on to his youth team manager, Eric, and it shows you what he thinks of him as well. It was a nice moment for both of them really, for Gary and for Scott (Dobie).

" A big thing for Scott to get his first goal here on his comeback to the club. I know how much he has been supported by his fellow Cumbrians and they'd be as pleased as him I think, but two good players there at different stages of their career. It might not surprise you to say that Scott Dobie looks after Gary, he gets him off the bench to go off and warm-up, they often go out together. Scott just keeps a little fatherly eye on him so they'll be pleased. "



" It's pleasing and it's encouraging, we encourage it from the staff. We can take our leads and say do this or do that but they have to be responsible for the performances and how they behave on and off the pitch and away from the football club. We reap the benefits of that because they are very concerned about themselves, quite rightly, and about each other, which comes a real close second. That has got us through a lot of things already this season, and if we keep working hard at it then it might get us through one or two more.

" We've said all along that there is absolutely nothing can be taken for granted, football does that to you. I think even up to the Saturday morning Manchester United were clear favourites for the Premier League and now they're not, it's totally tighter and closer. It does that and that's why it's a terrific game, that's why people come to watch, because they don't really know the outcome and I think that is the key to it happening now.

" When it goes your way you take it and you move on, and we've got to move on to the best team in the league coming up to play us on Tuesday now. It's a really big game to look forward to. I'd like to have been top though, I've got a bit of greed about me as well, what I've said since the beginning of March really is that we want to chase Swansea, we don't want to be looking over our shoulders, and that still applies.

" We are still chasing Swansea and tomorrow night gives us a chance to meet them face to face. I think that they are the best team in the league, they've stayed at the top of the league for a long time, which shows their resilience and their toughness. They've had one or two setbacks, as they had on Saturday, but they bounce back as well. I think we showed that after the defeat against Nottingham Forest, we can bounce back. So there are two teams in good form and I'm looking forward to putting ourselves up against the team I consider the best in the division.

" Our tough games coming up are why I'd like the points in early, and if we could get them early on Tuesday then that would help us obviously. They are very tough games, and I recited the programme to somebody not long so and they said blimey. If we get up we'll deserve to after all of those games, and that's the situation that is still in place now. We've got to make sure that we work very hard in these games and that we try to get the points that we want. Because there are a lot of people chasing us, as well as us chasing Swansea. "