John Ward - Radio Cumbria Interview

Last updated : 12 August 2008 By Thetashkentterror

John Ward
United boss John Ward spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Derek Lacey on Monday morning as he talked about Carlisle's excellent 3-2 opening day victory at Bristol Rovers, Ward also looking ahead to tomorrow's Carling Cup first round tie at Shrewsbury :


" It was an open game, I think that it was a really good game of football and when you get those then you obviously want to win them. I maintain that if we can get enough of the ball that we can be a threat to people. We've got some good pace and some good movement at the front of the team and the nice thing was that we showed good composure with that in front of goal.

" We've hit the target enough times and have given a number of problems to Bristol Rovers, who will be a really difficult side to beat at home this season. I think that they are a good team so the satisfaction comes out of that, but sadly it doesn't last long because I've got another game to plan for and get ready, and we have got to try to do well at Shrewsbury of course.

" You can say that Saturday was a good job but now you have to move on, and sport doesn't give you too long to dwell on defeats or victories. So we have got to get ready, and it's a cup tie this as well, it's against a team that I think will be challenging at the top of League Two and could even be playing in our league next season.

" I think that they have got a very strong squad and they have paid a bit of money out in the summer. They have got good players in, people like Grant Holt who will be very good at that level of course. Graham Coughlan who I think that the people know about at Carlisle. He has got some good players in there has Paul Simpson. I think that it will be a really difficult game for us but if we can perform as we did on Saturday then maybe we will make them sit up a little bit too. "



" It was a tough season for him (Danny Carlton) last year and even that did he or didn't he score against Leeds goal, when you reflect on it we should have let him have that goal because it possibly was his goal anyway. He has had to wait and a season is a long time when you are waiting for something.

" Maybe one or two doubts may have crossed his mind and other people's minds, can he do it, can he come out of two levels and do it? On Saturday he has come and done it, and he has not only just done it on Saturday, he has been doing it for the last five or six weeks through pre-season. He has come back with a real determination to do well, and I think that was evident at the weekend. I think that the alternative is a bit scary as well, it is dropping back down the leagues and starting again, and Danny obviously didn't want to do that.

" We talked in the summer, he and I, about what was next for him and he wanted to give it a right good go and we would look at it all six weeks into the season if he hadn't made the team. Well not only has he made the team but he has made an impact in it already. We mustn't expect too many things off him all the time but we have got a lad with some confidence and it's nice to have that in front of goal particularly.

" There is a lot of contribution, the other guys in the dressing-room, people like Jeff Smith and Darren Campion who didn't get a shirt there, they were in that dressing-room as well. Gary Madine was disappointed because last year he has been on the bench and he has been pushing for the first-team. We try to make a point that if we win then we all win because those fellows will maybe be needed at Shrewsbury or against Crewe on Saturday, or further into the season.

" That is the point that I made about Michael (Bridges), we brought Michael in not to play just at Bristol Rovers but to play through the season for us, and he will, and he was as pleased as anybody. They all want to get on there and get playing on the pitch but the team has won and that team consists of all those players that we have just mentioned. "



" It is a relief to get the first three points because you look at your fixtures and three out of the first four are away from home, including the cup tie. Had it gone the opposite way and then we don't do anything at Shrewsbury then suddenly there is a massive pressure against Crewe that you have inflicted upon yourself a little bit. There is still pressure to beat Crewe and those kind of things but we are on our way now.

" I think that if you talk to Bristol Rovers, they are away at Watford in the cup and then they have got a tough away game next Saturday, and they'll be wondering "what if?" next Saturday night. We didn't want to be in that position and obviously we're not, so any concerns about is there a hangover from last season are put out of the window. This is probably the last time I'll even mention it, because someone will ask me about it, but we are off and running now for this year.

" We have talked about points at the beginning of the season being as vitally as important as the ones at the end of the season. Whilst we missed out only by a couple of points or so last year, there were points dropped at the beginning that people maybe forgot about. Well we have started OK this year and we've got to keep pushing on now and see if we can accumulate more points than we did last year. That is going to be exceptionally tough but we are three points closer to it already.

" I've just been reading an article about Paul Jewell at Derby and I think that he has now gone 25 games since he went in there without a win, and we're talking about a couple of games at the beginning of a season. To have something like that hanging over you though is massive, and pressure, that is pressure then to go and get yourself on the scoreboard somewhere. "



" So we're OK, it's a good start, it's a good first game. It was a difficult fixture which we all knew it was, and we had to be around about at our best. Whilst we weren't quite at our best we showed some really good touches, particularly in the last part of the pitch when we were going forward. Lennie Lawrence and Paul Trollope paid us some nice compliments at the end about the team. Well, if pressure is the right the word, then the pressure is on the team to go and reperform again in the same vein if they can.

" This club has had some good success in cup competitions, and I have not had too many at my teams really. We had one year at Cheltenham where we played Newcastle at home in the FA Cup which was wonderful. That opportunity is not about finances, those things come with it, it's about the opportunity for my players here at Carlisle to play against a top team, and we have got to get rid of Shrewsbury to do that.

" That again is a tough fixture, they will be up for it because they will be seeing us as the big club going in there. Maybe if we can get through then we'll maybe get someone like Middlesbrough or somebody like that coming back to Carlisle and playing us, and we'd enjoy that experience. So that is how important it is, it is there for me to get people more football education as well as increase the finances at the football club. We have got a really difficult game on Tuesday though and to come through that will be another feather in our cap.

" There were no injuries from Saturday, everyone is OK and fit and well. We'll take the same squad down, I think that we have got seven substitutes now because it is a different competition, so there will only probably be one without a shirt on Tuesday, but that's life though and it has got to be done. I'm in favour of it but it is not all round, it's strange because they are doing it in the Premier League this year and they are doing it in the Carling Cup because the Premier clubs are in it.

" They are also doing it in the FA Cup because the Premier clubs are in it. They are not doing it in the Football League though, and I just think that it is ridiculous really that we are working to two rules and regulations. For me yes, three from seven will be fine, I could have done with another one or two to choose from on Saturday. I also think though that if things are going on at reserve level then you should be able to choose five from five if you want because it is less important. For me, I'm fine with it, but it should be all round and all across the board, it shouldn't be in different competitions. "