Neil McDonald On Yesterday's Defeat

Last updated : 29 April 2007 By Thetashkentterror

Blues manager Neil McDonald
United boss Neil McDonald spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Derek Lacey on Saturday evening as he gave his opinion on the 2-1 reverse against Swansea City at Brunton Park yesterday that ended Carlisle's play-off hopes. McDonald talking about the need to strengthen the squad in the summer :


" I thought we were outplayed in the first-half, out-run, out-scored and out-everything really, but we changed it a little bit in the second-half and we started passing the ball a little bit quicker and getting the ball in behind them. We caused them lots of lots of problems and we were the better team in the second-half. He (Johann Smith) took his first goal fantastically well, he came inside and finished with his right foot. Then he has got one-on-one with the goalkeeper where a square pass was maybe the easiest one to do.

" When you are playing against the top sides you have to put those chances away and if you don't then sometimes it comes back to haunt you. On their second goal he's either chested it onto his hand or took the ball from his hand to his chest and then knocked it in. I think everybody could see, in my opinion that he handled it, I'll have to have a look at it. It's certainly not sour grapes but we certainly deserved a draw.

" I'm very proud of the players over the season, they have played to their full potential and they have outshine anything about where anybody would have expected them to finish. We would really have been happy with 20th after two promotions, everyone keeps telling me that after two promotions you normally struggle because the gap from where you have come from to where you are is too big. They have certainly bridged that gap though and they have been a credit to themselves, their families, and especially the football club.

" It doesn't make it easier now knowing where we are, we've still got to recruit the players, but we know where we are next year and the aim is to take it higher than where we are going to finish this season after the last game. (On Peter Murphy and Karl Hawley) It will be interesting to see if you ask the question because I have been asking the question all the time. They can see where the club is going so let them come out and say where they really want to be and really want to go. If they are going to say no then I've got people who I have been watching anyway if they say no but it's about time you put them on the spot.

" Hopefully this will be a great foundation for next year but I'm not so sure that it will be a stable summer. It will be frantic trying to recruit players to try to make the team stronger because the team is pretty strong. If you finish in the top half then you are a strong team in this league and we just need to add one, two or three players to make us even stronger. We've played against two teams in the last two weeks who are very, very strong, very physical and big, and we haven't struggled against those two even though they might get promoted.

" It gives us hope and the season has been fantastic hasn't it. We started off with Doncaster winning the first game which took a huge pressure off me because that was my first game. Then to come this far with only one game left hoping that we could get promotion. We'll still finish in a very, very strong position I think.

" We'll be going to Scunthorpe to spoil the party of course, they can't have it all their own way all the time, plus they beat us here so we'll certainly be trying to be party-poppers. I'd just like to thank everybody, it's been a learning curve for me speaking to you lot. The fans have been fantastic, and they showed today how really good they are when they get behind the team, that certainly turned the second-half and the performance. "