Carlisle United Football Club

“There is an atmosphere that’s growing and there’s buoyancy in there as well,” he told us. “The mentality changes when a team is winning and we’re getting the benefit of that at the moment.

“You don’t want losing to be accepted in the changing room. You don’t want to carry negativity around with you because it can impair you. I certainly don’t like to see negativity and I definitely don’t like accepting defeat, so it’s starting to get to where I want it to be.”

“I’ve said this a number of times but I think we’re starting to see a little bit of belief that something is going to happen here from the fans as well,” he continued. “I come into work every day and I can feel it. Sooner or later word will spread. We’re starting to get more people saying well done and congratulations when I head into the town centre and I firmly believe this can continue.

“There were questions about what I was going to do when I first got here because previous regimes had been put in place from within. I’ve arrived completely out of the blue, with nobody knowing anything about me, or what I’m about, but credit to everyone at the club because they’ve made me feel very welcome.”

On the injury situation, he said: “Mark [Gillespie] came in to see me the other day and he is up, about and mobile. He’s very happy with his progress and he has much more movement in his leg. The stitches are out in the next couple of days and the important thing for him is that he still feels part of it. 

“He’s joining Tony Caig to watch videos of the game, to help Dan Hanford, and he’s chipping in with some important feedback. That’s exactly what we want to see. They need to work closely together, even when he’s back in contention, so they can get the best out of each other and develop their keeper’s union.”

“Courtney Meppen-Walter is back to field based exercises and, with no disresepct to our medical department, that’s where we want our players to be,” added. “We want them out of the treatment room because it means they are closer to being back and available for selection. 

“We’ve kept Billy Paynter down in Liverpool for the time being. I’m trying to look after him because he’s been given a set programme of what he needs to do at various stages of his rehabilitation. I don’t need him sat in a car for two hours to come here and do a string of exercises he can do just as well down there. He has a gym in his house and he has a direct video link, via Skype, to Neil Dalton. They’re getting it done that way - modern technology comes to Carlisle!”

And he confirmed that his interest in striker Clinton Morrison has been put on hold following a chat with the player’s representatives.

“Clinton’s agent has called me a couple of times and it’s a difficult situation,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of time for Clinton but I’m not able to get him through the door at the moment. I’ll never close the door on goal scorers because every team needs them. We’re starting to create a number of chances in games where I think we need to finish them off.

“I spoke to somebody seven or eight years ago who said you need nine attempts at goal to score just once. It’s been borne out season after season and that statistic is the case. It’s something we will continue to look at because every manager is always looking at ways they can add to their squad.”