Mathieu Manset on making his debut
Striker Mathieu Manset made his long anticipated debut for the Cumbrians in the 3-3 draw with Yeovil on Saturday and he made an immediate impact as his late thunderbolt rebounded back off the keeper and into the path of unfortunate defender Luke Ayling.
We caught up with the livewire forward to get his reaction to finally pulling on a blue shirt.
“I think I would say it was a dream debut because we were 3-1 down and we have come back to get a draw,” he said. “For me, that is a dream because the team worked hard and we didn’t lose. It has been really good.
“It has been a frustrating period for me because I have been waiting and waiting for my clearance. It has been very hard for me. Finally, on Friday, I heard that it had come through and I was really happy to know that I was going to be on the bench.”
“I have been making calls to the Swiss FA and to my old club to try to help,” he explained. “I was desperate to play for Carlisle and I was so happy when it was all sorted. I called my family and all of my friends because I wanted them to know.
“Once the manager told me I would be a substitute I knew in my own mind that I had to do something if I got on,” he said. “I wanted to be able to change the game and try to score, and do anything I could to help the squad.
“I didn’t mind coming on when we were two goals down because I wanted to be involved. I knew I needed to do something to help. The fans clapped when I came on and that felt really good. They have been fantastic for me. They send me tweets to encourage me and they call me ‘The Beast.’ That’s really good because the last six months have not been good for me. I haven’t been playing and I had trouble with my old club, but now that has all gone.
“I’ve trained with the players for two weeks and I think there will be no problems for me to fit in. I feel very lucky to be here and I just want to do my job – that’s to play football. Everyone has done as much as they can to take care of me and to look after me and that has made me feel very welcome. Being here has put a smile back on my face.
“I’m not 100% fit just yet but I am working very hard on my fitness. The 25 minutes I had in this game will help me. I like to shoot. When I had my first one, and it wasn’t on target, I thought I would maybe be better with the next one. It wasn’t because I put it over the target.
“I celebrated a lot for the equaliser because, for me, it was my goal! It was lucky because the defender got in the way, but it was an unbelievable feeling when it went over the line. It’s hard to explain what it was like in the dressing room at full time because everyone was just very happy.
“I know in my head how many goals I want to score but I will keep it to myself. Maybe I will tell you at the end of the season.
“We have a good week now to get ready for Shrewsbury and I think we have a good squad here. We have a good team here and I think we all want a strong finish from our last seven games.”
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