Michael Bridges - Radio Cumbria Interview

Last updated : 26 July 2008 By Thetashkentterror

Michael Bridges
New United signing Michael Bridges spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Derek Lacey on Friday morning as he talked about his return to Brunton Park yesterday, Bridges also chatting about his disappointing spell at Hull City :


" Welcome back isn't it, I'm absolutely delighted, it's great to be back, the gaffer (John Ward) has worked hard along with John Nixon and Pat (Steve Pattison) to get the deal pushed through. They have worked with Hull City and it's come off, I'm absolutely delighted, there was only one place that I was going to come back to.

" There were a few other clubs interested but obviously Dennis Booth played a major part in getting me here as well. It's great to come back, it's a big club, it's a family club, the faces are still the same. It's great to see so many people smiling and the back-room staff are the same, it's great to come back and be part of it and hopefully add something new and different, as I did last time.

" When I signed down at Hull at the time the manager was Phil Parkinson and then he unfortunately got the sack after six months. A new manager (Phil Brown) has come in with new ideas, I didn't play as many games as I would have liked. I decided, the opportunity arose to go on loan somewhere, which at the time I wasn't ready to do, but Australia came up and I thought why not?

" Let's go out there and see what it is about, there are people going to the MLS. I spoke to my mate Harry Kewell and he said to get myself out there because you'll enjoy it. I did, I thoroughly enjoyed it, the football standard wasn't great but the lifestyle was brilliant. I could have quite happily lived out there but I've got an ambition and I still want to play football, I'm not over the hill yet.

" So I quickly came back to Hull, the lads got promoted, I didn't play many games and I'm not happy just to sit around and pick up my money. I want to play football, hence the reason I wanted to move on and come and play football. There is no better place to come back to because I've got so many great memories. "



" A lot of the lads out there when I was in Australia were asking why I had gone out there. I said that it was a change for me and it's a change of scenery, but the amount of players that want to come over to England and play. There are a lot of lads coming over at the moment from the Aussie Rules, everybody wants to come to England and play football. It doesn't matter what division it is in, people want to come here because they know how passionate the fans and things are.

" Carlisle can push on this season, you have got to have that belief, but sometimes it doesn't work like that, sometimes it is hard to emulate what you have done the season before. Sometimes it makes you go stronger and you go on and do better, it just depends how the lads react and how you start the season. It's going to be a big test but one that I am relishing and looking forward to.

" It was great to walk in and see Dolly (Neil Dalton) and Den (Dennis Booth) there, the same old banter giving me a bit of stick there. Obviously I know that Lummy (Chris Lumsdon) and Paul Thirlwell have got to come back this morning so I'm looking forward to seeing them. It's great to be back though and I'm just looking forward to getting started.

" A lot of people are saying that obviously with me going back to Carlisle, they've tasted success, they've seen you play and they will be expecting that from day one. I said that that is where you have got to be big enough and strong enough to want to do that. I want to play football, I enjoy entertaining people, I just can't wait to get my boots on and get out there and hopefully score a load of goals.

" It's just good though, it's refreshing, it's nice to get a bit of banter with the boys. It eases you back in and I am just delighted to be back here. It is a loan deal at the moment, we have done the loan deal and obviously we'll take it from there over the next few weeks to see what that leads to, I'm not cup-tied this year either. "