Simon Hackney - Radio Cumbria Interview

Last updated : 30 January 2009 By Thetashkentterror

Simon Hackney
Former United winger Simon Hackney spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria this evening about his £105,000 move to Colchester earlier this week, Hackney explaining how the deal came about from his perspective :


" Basically I had just come to training on Friday, I had not been selected in the starting eleven so I didn't really know what was going on. I came home not feeling the happiest and the gaffer (Greg Abbott) gave me a phone call saying that they had accepted a bid in the morning and it was up to me whether or not I wanted to go down and speak to Colchester.

" Which at that time I thought, I just put two and two together and I just thought that I would go down and have a speak because I thought that it would be harmless. I turned up on Friday to play for Carlisle and that is the way that it was really. Then I basically got the call off Greg and I just thought that maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing to go down and talk.

" I think that now after the decision has been made, it was a very hard decision for me I must say. Because I have been at Carlisle for a long time and I have met really nice people and I have felt really welcome and they have given me a chance. So to actually come to Carlisle and do as much and to be a part of it is going to be a miss, definitely.

" People could probably say that I have not been happy or I have not been in form or anything like that. Maybe sometimes in training or something around the ground keeps you out of form, I don't know. I tried to think about it myself but I did give 100% whenever I was given the shirt. Maybe the move to Colchester is the right one and only time will tell. "



" Getting signed at Carlisle was one highlight of my career. I was playing in front of one man and his dog and then the next minute I am playing in front of and getting my chance in front of thousands. So I feel very overwhelmed and to be quite honest it is overwhelming to see that many people in a stadium still. I am very fortunate to be given this opportunity and I feel like Carlisle have given me that opportunity all the way through and that is where I started.

" I am disappointed that the bid was accepted but I have got no grudges with anybody. If anything I like to stay well away from grudges or thinking bad of anyone. I just want to get on, it is a job at the end of the day, it is a career and it is a game of football. It is just something that I like to play and it is something that I enjoy doing. Whether it is at Carlisle, which I really, really enjoyed, and now it is Colchester which they have welcomed me very well.

" Greg didn't really let me know his feelings on the situation, he let me know about the bid and it was up to me basically whether I wanted to be in touch. So that gave me my chance to speak to my agent about it and speak to my family and everyone was thinking that there would be no harm in doing it. So that is what made me make the decision.

" It is very laid back at Colchester actually which is very different. I got there and I only met the lads on the Tuesday night at the game so it was the first time I had ever met any of them. They all came over and shook my hand and they had all heard good things about me from the manager (Paul Lambert) and from a few players. "



" From Marc Tierney who was at Carlisle and Paul Reid, they gave me some good support to the lads, so they made me feel really welcome. Which is a hard thing to come into a team and sit in a dressing-room thinking that is totally different. The person that I am it is kind of a worry but not at all, I got there and they made me feel really at home and it gave me an incentive to come on when I got the chance, and I feel that I did well.

" I will be at the game tomorrow, I have had a few phone calls off the lads who I am going to keep in touch with. Which is brilliant, it is always nice to leave a team and to still have the friends there. I know that everyone wants to come in and say hello and that so I will do that definitely, I am looking forward to it.

" For all the loyal fans and everything like that, it has really, really meant a lot. For all the e-mails that came in and all the letters, I will hold that deep in my heart definitely. Carlisle will always be remembered for me definitely and it is where it began for me, so I will never forget that thank you very much.

" To all those people I really, really appreciate it and I know that my family do as well, so thank you very much. My Mum said that she has got to keep listening to the Carlisle commentaries because she has paid for them and there is no way out of it. She is a loyal fan just like I am so she will keep listening. "