United manager Greg Abbott spoke to the press today ahead of the opening game of the League One season against Brentford at Brunton Park on Saturday.
The Gaffer was in relaxed mood in the Derek Lacey Media Suite and everything seemed to be going smoothly as the press looked for their killer quotes for this weekend's newspapers and radio broadcasts.
Unfortunately, Greg and the gathered press hadn't countered in the fact that the CUFC media team are far better at HTML and video editing than they are DIY!
With the new npower Football League TV ad boards having only arrived in the last week and another board due to be used for the Carling Cup tie against Huddersfield on Tuesday night, the temporary solution of blu-tack had been employed successfully for the post Hibs press conference at the weekend.
This tactic didn't last though and as you can see from the freeview clip, poor James Phillips from BBC Radio Cumbria saw one of his questions brought crashing down by the ad board's collapse!
This incident early on in the press briefing didn't phase the United boss though, as he carried on answering questions as he looked forward to the visit of Andy Scott's side this weekend.
He said: "The pre-season is behind us now and all the focus is on this weekend and I can't wait for the season to start.
"I'm pretty happy with how things have gone in pre-season and I think we've got some good results in that time. But those games are only really a guide as you don't consistently play against the same standard of opposition you do week in week out in the league.
"We've looked very sharp and resolute in defence and only really got turned over in the second half against Newcastle. They had the luxury of being able to bring on an entirely different side after the break and the pace they had will cause problems for any defence. If you look at our results other than that game, we've only conceded two goals in six games. But as we've said, that won't matter if we don't do it right against Brentford.
"I have got it in my mind now what line-up I'm going to go with, barring any last minute injuries. I won't announce it to the players until training on Friday morning. That will give us a chance to run through the set-pieces as a team and we'll get the eleven that are starting to play against the other players who we will line-up the way we believe Brentford will on Saturday.
"Of course there will be players who will be disappointed to miss out but that's because they're desperate to play. We won't treat those who aren't starting any different to the rest and we could have another 60 plus game season so there'll be plenty of opportunities for them over the whole campaign.
"It's not easy scouting teams at this stage of the season as, like we have this pre-season, they tend to mix things up a bit and try out different formations and style. We've had Brentford watched a few times and we have a general idea of how they might play and set themselves up, so it's up to us to find a way to get around that.
"We know they are very solid in defence and midfield and have some very clever forwards too. Whether it be Forster, Alexander, MacDonald or Weston that plays, they have four strikers available who all offer different qualities and they'll try to cause us some problems.
"There is definitely a more positive feeling around the place than there was this time last season, but all that counts is what happens on Saturday. It's a very fine line from being five games in and having a brilliant start and having a poor start. Hopefully we can start things off a bit better than we did last season and give ourselves something to build on."
A full video interview will be available for United Player subscribers to watch on Friday morning. You can watch a freeview clip at the top of this page in which Greg talks about scouting opposition sides and of course, that ad board blooper!
For more details on how to sign up for United Player and receive match commentary on every first team game as well as exclusive video clips and extended highlights on every home first team fixture, click here.
