On Tuesday morning, Tom Piatak joined us to speak about on-pitch matters.
In his first interview with the club following relegation to Sky Bet League Two, he said: “Nobody wants to get relegated and that was very difficult.
“I’m a competitor, we’re all competitors here at the club.
“We knew that it was a distinct reality that it could happen, we didn’t want it to happen. Now that it has happened and finally sunk in, taking a step back is sometimes necessary to take a step forward and I think everybody realises that.
“Very disappointed that it happened, because one of our goals was to survive League One, but with it happening it's going to make us stronger and we’re getting ready for the summer to bounce back to a very bright future.
“We are actually working right now diligently with the staff, with the football staff on the recruiting for the summer and we’re blending a little more of analytics to it.
“There’s the analytics, then there’s the in-person you know, the visits, the site visits to see the players actually perform.
“Bringing the analytical tools in place, having a more structured process that we’re following to make sure that we’re looking at all players of all clubs, at each position and not necessarily just going to the comfort zone of we know this club or we have a contact with this club so it's natural to reach out to them.
“We’re challenging everybody to say ‘if we believe this is the best person at that position, let's reach out to that agent, let's reach out to that player and see if we can secure them’, if not, let’s move onto number two.
“It’s forcing the club, which I think is a good thing, to step out of their comfort zone and reach out to players that maybe they wouldn't of in the past, but can really contribute to the success of the team.
“We’re very involved in the process, when it comes to the actual selection that’s going to be up to Paul and the recruiting staff, but we’re trying to make sure that the process is followed to ensure we’re looking at a broad range of players.”
“Right now, we have a lot going on at the club, on the pitch and off the pitch, but the number one priority, the biggest job we have going on right now is the recruitment this summer and getting that right.
“That is the number one thing that we’re all doing, we’re all focused on that. If we don’t get that right, everything we’re doing off the pitch seems very small, even though it's the right thing to do to build the infrastructure.
“We know it’s a huge task, it’s the number one priority and all resources are focused on that.”
When asked about short-term goals, Tom added: “Paul and I have talked, we’re starting to formulate them, expectations are going to be high, we know that, expectations this summer are going to be high.
“As soon as the window opens people are going to be searching for the first signing and we need to make sure we get that right, but more importantly, as we move into the season, we do have goals.
“I keep those goals internal between myself, the leadership and the coach and the manager, we agree on them, we have set targets, we’re going to refine them a little bit more as we move forward, but there are internal targets that we have and expectations.”
Talking ahead of our final two fixtures of the season against Wycombe and Debry, he said:
“You want to move forward, you want to end this season strong. Again, we don’t like the relegation but hopefully that enables the squad to play a little looser and freer and nothing would be greater than to go down to Derby and upset them down there.
“To see progression of the squad, to see the progression of the new players that we have signed in the January window and to see them continue to gel as a team and the whole squad come together, we need to finish strong, we need to finish with positive momentum going into the summer, I think that’s important.”
At the time of writing, United have sold over 1,300 tickets for their final day trip to Pride Park.
“Surprised, no. I would say that’s one of the reasons we selected Carlisle because we knew there was a phenomenal fan base here and we really appreciate the fan base.
“To have the season that we’ve had and to see the fans and supporters continue to come out it’s just absolutely phenomenal.
“You wouldn’t see that at maybe some other clubs, but I think that also shows their belief in the future and what we’re trying to do and that these things don’t happen overnight.
“I came in yesterday and walked up to the ticket office, walking up to the administration side and as I hit there, there was a huge line for the Derby tickets.
“I was just like, ‘how refreshing’, they were all standing in queue waiting, but it was just impressive to see that level of support for a team that’s been relegated, it’s tremendous.
“Hopefully they keep going, we need that support, we need the support of the community as we’re transitioning the club and moving it in the right direction.”
