John Ward On Yet Another Home Win

Last updated : 13 March 2008 By Thetashkentterror

John Ward
United boss John Ward spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Derek Lacey on Tuesday night as he talked about the 2-1 victory against Luton at Brunton Park, Ward suggesting that it had been Carlisle's worst performance by far in their recent winning run :


" I don't know what other people expect, I expect a battle. You've got a team working to save their lives, not just in terms of a league position but their own careers. They are in administration, these players are good players, I said yesterday that it was a dangerous game with the good players that Luton have got. That was how it proved but I think that when you look at the other results around our league table, you can see that the result is a very, very good result. The performance was poor and below-par, we are better than that but the result is excellent.

" We work hard at defending as well as attacking, we couldn't get the attacking going as cleanly and as nicely and as much as we wanted to but defensively as a team we have worked exceptionally hard. Football people use the phrase - win ugly - and we've managed to do that. Over 46 games of a season you are going to have dig out games like this and they are much better when you win them. If you come out not winning this game then you are very, very upset with the way that everything has gone on the evening, but we can all at least go home pleased with the result rather than anything else that we have seen maybe.

" It's a good run we are on and we've done it in different ways, and tonight we have done it in a different way where we haven't pleased people, me or supporters with how we have done. The players themselves are disappointed because the standards are so high, but I've said, read those papers in the morning and it will say 2-1 and hopefully we won't dwell too long on the disappointment. Difficult conditions though, I thought they probably mastered them better than us in terms of getting the ball down and playing.

" We found the ball a little bit of a hot potato, particularly in the second-half, a little bit of frantic football, clearing, not getting our football working and passing as well as we would like. I keep coming back to it though, we've won and that is the big thing about it at this stage of the season. I don't think we will worry too much about it in a couple of weeks time, we'll just say that it was a good win and part of a good run. "



" We're not going to keep clean sheets every week so it's important that when we do concede a goal we've got a couple at the other end. They (Danny Livesey and Peter Murphy) have come up trumps at both ends I think, the two boys at the back. They have played very well defensively against some good players and have found a goal apiece which is excellent.

" Jeff Smith's is nasty, he's got a massive ankle in there. I thought that it was a nasty challenge to be fair, the referee (Graham Laws) thought they played the ball but if that is playing the ball then someone has played his ankle. I'd have awarded us a free-kick but Jeff is going to be out for a while, I'll tell you that straight away. The onus is on the referee not the team to stop it, so don't worry about Luton not putting the ball out, it's not up to the teams to stop the game any more, it's the referee's decision.

He's already indicated that he felt the tackle was fair so you are probably wondering if Jeff is kidding. If you have a look at his ankle tonight though, straight after the game, you absolutely know that he is not kidding, so I'm not too happy with that. He (Scott Dobie) is getting better, he has been in today and we'll get him out and about tomorrow and get him jogging around a wee bit in the next couple of days and see how Saturday looks for him.

" The table is excellent reading and this result makes it even more good reading. Because you look at Swansea drawing at home, Doncaster have won 2-1 at home to Gillingham the same as us, a team in the bottom four who are difficult to beat. Cheltenham have won at Leeds, Walsall have got beat I think haven't they at home. So there is nothing easy about winning football matches, let's just be pleased with the result and we'll put the performance in the bottom drawer and leave it there. "



" They (the crowd) are edgy, they can't do anything but watch the same as me. They are all on edge, the players get a bit on edge and we get a little bit grumpy with each other and the players. In the end though everybody pulled together and I've said that before, and I thank them for that. They've stuck in there with the team, they've got behind them and they are probably the same as me, relieved we have got the win but let's just get on with it, I keep repeating that but let's just take it thanks and go on.

" I think we've got a shout for trying to get a few more in the ground but what can we do? I'm not grumbling, I'm pleased that people are coming and the ones that are coming are getting behind us and getting what they want. They are seeing their team win, the performance was probably the poorest of that recent run of wins but they have got a team that has got their heart on their sleeve and they give everything that they have got. I can't answer for other people though, they have got to pull the answer for that but we just keep trying. I keep telling the dressing-room that we are trying to do it for everybody at this football club who wants to be with us.

" He (Cleveland Taylor) is like a lot of other players tonight, he's been below-par, but we substituted him on Saturday and he got a standing ovation off people. I don't just shut my eyes to one game or whatever, Cleveland is a good footballer and he wants to be better and he will get better and he'll be fine. To say he hasn't settled in yet, I think he has, he's crossed key balls in for key goals in 1-0 wins, on Saturday he got rapturous applause from the supporters when we brought him off so I'm not going to buy into that one I don't think.

" The players will put their hands up in the dressing-room to say they had a poor game and they are doing, and that's fine. I don't expect them all to come and stand up here and say that they can do better, I'll tell them that. They know that, they've accepted that in the dressing-room, they are their own biggest critics. I'm OK with that, I've got a very honest group of people and you don't win scrappy games and scruffy games like this with dishonest players, and we've managed to win one of those games tonight with certainly some honesty. "