Carlisle United Football Club

Striker Charlie Wyke with reaction to the Stevenage victory

Striker Charlie Wyke somehow managed to make some sense out of his post-match interview on Saturday despite interruptions from Jason Kennedy, Danny Grainger and Nicky Adams along the way.

Speaking first about the hard fought win, he said: “We had to put a shift in to get the points in the end. We had a few decisions which didn’t go our way, but we got over that and it’s a good win for us.

“Obviously it gets frustrating when things are going against you but that’s when you just have to pull together and work even harder. The gaffer told us at half time that he didn’t want to see us losing our heads, so we knuckled down and got on with the job.

“We didn’t want it to become a day that was about the officials. We wanted it to be about us. Thankfully we kept it together and we didn’t get anybody sent off.”

On the team spirit, which is there for all to see this season, he added: “It’s a really good environment at the moment. Before the games you can hear a lot of banter flying around but as soon as we get out there it all gets very serious.

“You saw the reaction to them getting a penalty and that’s what we’re all about. It wasn’t ideal for them to get a goal right on half time but it’s then about how you react to it.

“We felt we should have had one ten minutes before that so getting one in the second half evened things out. And when Danny [Grainger] steps up you pretty much know he’s going to put it away.

“I had a couple of half chances and two or three of us had a go at the ball for our first goal. In the end Jase [Kennedy] nicked in and got it, so we don’t mind that. The keeper had saved my shot and the important thing is that it went over the line. Jase likes scoring from a yard out so fair play to him.”

The victory put the current squad into the record books, as their start to the season extended to 14 games unbeaten, and the big forward admitted that it’s something which is nice to have as the team edges towards top spot in the division.

“The really good thing is that it means we’ve kept a positive run going,” he commented. “I don’t think about records too much because as far as I’m concerned you have to go into every game thinking you’re going to win.

“That’s what we do now because there’s a lot of confidence around. We go into every game thinking we’re the better team and it really is a case of keeping things going. Hopefully we’ll do that in front of another big crowd on Saturday.

“It was great to see so many there against Hartlepool and they got behind us for the full 90 minutes. That means a lot to the lads and we really want to keep it going to repay the fans for the support they give us.”

And it comes as little surprise to learn that the first thing the lads do when they get back into the dressing at full time is to check on the other results and take a look at the updated league table.

“It really is the first thing we do,” he confirmed. “Lee Dykes told us straight away that we were second and we know it’s important that we keep it going.

“Everyone is playing well and every player in the dressing is determined to give it everything out on the pitch, whether they’re starting or coming on as a sub. None of us want to look too far ahead but we’re working hard to keep it all going.”