Paul Murray - Radio Cumbria Interview

Last updated : 23 February 2007 By Thetashkentterror

Paul Murray
Blues midfielder Paul Murray spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria on Friday evening as he talked about his injury problems, his thoughts on the future and United's poor away form :


" The injury is quite sore at the moment, it's been a week now since I actually felt something in training, and it's more or less the same a week later. So I don't think it's looking that positive at the moment. I'm not too sure if I will be out for the rest of the season, I don't think it's associated with my past knee injury, which I'm obviously happy with. Until I get a scan I won't know but I have a tendon down the outside of my hamstring which goes into the bad knee, and that has been bothering me for a couple of seasons now. I've had a couple of jabs in it to try and play and that might have caught up with me now and I might need something done to it, but I'm not looking at being out for the season at all yet.

" I'm going to stay positive, at the end of the day - last year I played no games with my clearance from Portugal so to play 14 games for your home-town club, well I'm happy with that. Obviously I want to play 45 games and get back to what I was playing for Oldham at 45 games a season, but it hasn't happened. Hopefully I'll get out on the field later on this season, but if I don't I don't. Fifteen games, I've got to look at it positively, I want to play more but I've got to take it on to next season.

" The knee has been fine, I have been very positive with the surgery I have had this season when I was out after nine games. That has been fine, it's the original one that I have been the most worried about, fingers crossed the original one that I had in 2004 is absolutely fine at the moment. I'm quite positive that it is just going to be something to do with the tendon and I can get back before the end of the season hopefully.

" I don't think packing it in has ever crossed my mind, at the end of the day I'm in a sport which I absolutely love. People watch me play and they know that I play with my heart on my sleeve, and that I'm enthusiastic and all sorts. I'm going to fight for it all the way along, I'll fight for it until someone actually says something. Even if someone did say to me - listen I think it's time to pack it in - I would give it a go anyway. I'm going to fight as hard as I can to carry on playing football because I absolutely love it. There will be a time when I eventually retire and I want to go into coaching, I want to be a coach eventually, I'd like it to be at Carlisle eventually in the future but I want to be a coach and I'm sure I'll be a good one. I'm not looking at retiring at all, I'll fight for the football career that I have got so far and I'll continue to do that. "



" I think when we won 1-0 at home to Doncaster on the first day of the season we went on an unbeaten run of nine games which was a good run. I think that got us to fifth or sixth in the table, the highest we have been for so many years. The problem is that you have got to get back-to-back wins, Tuesday night I felt that we should have got a result but we didn't which was unfortunate. Now we've got to go down to Cheltenham and get a result there, I'm sure three points are available down there, if we've got any thoughts of still being in the play-offs then we've definitely got to get three points down there I think.

" The away form is a difficult one to put a finger on, when I've played away - personally I've always felt confident wherever we go in this league. I've experienced this league before and personally when I've played away from home I've thought that - yeah we can get three points here. It's just not come off though, our away form has not been very good but you never know at Cheltenham away. They've had three good home results where they have won two and drawn one, if we can go there and get a result and three points on Saturday then everyone will be confident. Looking at the table the results went for us on Tuesday, we just need that to happen again on Saturday and we could be getting a little bit closer to those play-offs.

" I am actually out of contract at the end of the season, I spoke briefly after four games with the gaffer (Neil McDonald) and we discussed some various bits. It was about playing games and unfortunately I haven't played those games. I know how difficult it is for the club when they have got a player like me who has only played 14 games and has had a history of a few bad injuries and various things. I want to sign for the club though and if everything is fine then I will sign for the club. I'm out of contract in the summer so I'll be a free agent in the summer. If we could thrash something out, obviously now I'm injured we'll have to wait and see, but I would love to stay at the club. As I've said before, it's my hometown club and it would be nice to sign again. I'm not the director, manager or chairman though so I cant' make those decisions.

" I'm sure the club is ambitious, I want to stay here. I'm enjoying it and the main thing is that I have enjoyed my football when I have played. I think that everyone can see that when I am actually playing that I'm enjoying it. For me - I've had an enjoyable time and I've played good football, I think we will be ambitious because the club belongs in the Championship and this is where the club wants to be. I'm sure it'll be ambitious and that's got no bearing on what I'll do really. "