Crawley manager Richie Barker spoke to BBC Radio Sussex and his club's official website after his side's 1-1 League One draw against Carlisle at the Broadfield Stadium, Barker saying the Red Devils deserved more than just a point out of the match:
“I thought we were fantastic, another game that we sit here and say we didn’t get what we deserved. I thought we were excellent, I thought that was as good a performance again as there has been over the last six weeks. I have to say that I think our current form, certainly over the last five or six weeks has probably been the best form of the season now. We are not getting our just desserts but in terms of things, their staff have just come in and said we battered them in the second-half and they can’t believe they have got a point out of that.
“I am disappointed with their goal because it is a fantastic strike, fair play to the lad (Jon-Paul McGovern) for giving it a go. But, I am disappointed because before the game I had sat with Paul Jones and told him that two weeks ago I went and watched Carlisle in a game and he tried exactly the same thing. The last thing I said to him was don’t get sucked into thinking that he is going to deliver it into the box, because he will have a shot.
“So, I would have to say that I am disappointed because of the work that I did, and I have said to the players that we pride ourselves on being the best organised team we can be with what we have got available, with the finances and staff we have available, and they are the best prepared team that we can make them. That is physically, technically, tactically and psychologically, and that one small moment there has cost us three points.
“For the first 25 minutes and the last 45 minutes I thought we looked excellent, I thought we lost our way a bit round-about their goal. Nobody will ever dominate a game for 90 minutes and we certainly won’t at this level, because it is a good tough level to be playing at. I asked them to start the game well and play the game at a tempo and I thought we did that. I thought the first goal would have been crucial and I think if we had got it then we would have probably gone on and won the game fairly comfortably.
“But, as you saw, Carlisle were disciplined, determined and organised and once they got their first goal it was always going to be tough for us to break them down. I think their gameplan was to get back behind the ball and then try to hit us on the break, and they only did that for a 15 or 20 minute spell in the first-half. After that in the second-half they didn’t hit us with anything and we were pretty much camped in their half."
“I don’t know what the statistics are in terms of possession and shots, but I think they had one shot in the second-half. We probably didn’t quite trouble their goalkeeper as much as I would have liked in terms of the possession we had. But, I have asked the team to go out and do something in terms of the way we play and I think some of the football we played, I think I would be amazed if anybody here has seen football like we have played over the last month ever at this place before.
“It is down to hard work, hard work on the training ground and being able to bring in good, athletic, young players who can get around the pitch. If you play football then you have to be athletic, because we like to move the ball and if you are going to move the ball about then you have to move about. So, I would put it down to hard work on the training ground, hard work by the players, but also the fact that we have now got people in that can play the way that I want to play.
"We score some fantastic goals, but nothing would delight me more than a two or three-yard tap-in from a player sliding in and scoring a scrappy goal. We are still quite an inexperienced side in certain areas and with experience comes the knowledge of where the ball is going to drop - that sense of anticipation. Having said that, not many knock-downs or ricochets seem to drop for us in the opposition box at the moment but that will come.
“So, we are all disappointed we have only got a point because we should have won the game, I don’t think anybody would be disappointed with what they have seen. But, right from the start of the season the first aim has always got to be 50 points, having said that I don’t think it will be 50 points to stay up anyway this season. But, it is a nice milestone for us and it certainly does ensure that we will be playing I think at this level at least, and now we can maybe go a little bit more gung-ho and push on and try to nick one of those final play-off places.
“We won’t let the season peter out because to be fair to the players they are disappointed in there that they have not won the game. So, we will not be letting it fizzle out and we will be having a right good crack at it. I have said to them right from the start that they look at the remaining games of the season and there are some winnable games in there. So, we are not going to let a good season just fizzle out, we want to finish in the highest position we can, if it is a play-off place then happy days.”