Jabo Ibehre talks about the away draw at Oxford
Striker Jabo Ibehre spoke to us following the away draw at Oxford on Saturday."It was a fantastic performance," he said. "It was a good game against a very good side. You can see they're full of confidence when they break and attack. We had some very good chances as well and I thought if we'd capitalised it might have been a different game.
"These are the games you want to be involved in. We knew we were coming here to face a good team who are thriving with confidence, but we wanted to go out there and test ourselves against the league leaders.
"I thought today was a good game. It was open at times but it was very entertaining, and I thought we acquitted ourselves very well."
Speaking about the floods which hit Cumbria last weekend, he said: "I haven’t been up there since the floods but the lads have been fantastic with helping the community. They deserve so much credit. We're all feeling it and we wanted to go out and try and put smiles on a few faces in this game.
"Some of the lads are from Cumbria so they've taken it to heart. We showed that in our gutsy performance and it's given us all a real focus in the dressing room.
"To see almost 400 fans down here is absolutely fantastic. We can't thank them enough, especially when we know the circumstances some of them are having to deal with.
"Hopefully coming to the game has taken their mind off something that is tragic happening back at home. We're so grateful and we always try and show our appreciation as much as we can. We want to try and win more games and put smiles on Cumbrian faces.
"What has happened at home has made us a tighter group. Adversity brings people together and we're all in it together. We went out there and tried to put on as good of a performance as we could for the people of Carlisle as well as ourselves.
"The better the team does, hopefully the more recognition the city gets. We want to do as well as we can and if the football can help take a bit of the pain away for a couple of hours we're all for it. Danny Grainger and Gary Dicker, and all of the lads, have been fantastic in the dressing room and they deserve so much credit for it."
"To see almost 400 fans down here is absolutely fantastic. We can't thank them enough, especially when we know the circumstances some of them are having to deal with.
"Hopefully coming to the game has taken their mind off something that is tragic happening back at home. We're so grateful and we always try and show our appreciation as much as we can. We want to try and win more games and put smiles on Cumbrian faces.
"What has happened at home has made us a tighter group. Adversity brings people together and we're all in it together. We went out there and tried to put on as good of a performance as we could for the people of Carlisle as well as ourselves.
"The better the team does, hopefully the more recognition the city gets. We want to do as well as we can and if the football can help take a bit of the pain away for a couple of hours we're all for it. Danny Grainger and Gary Dicker, and all of the lads, have been fantastic in the dressing room and they deserve so much credit for it."
Looking back at the game, he said: "I was disappointed I didn't score but I was happy to come through my first 90 minutes. That will make me very strong and I promise I'll score next week!
"I know Mulls [Johnny Mullins] well because I played with him many years ago. Sometimes it can be difficult to play against someone you know, but it's just one of those things. I knew I needed to get into him hard and show him who was boss. It was a good battle and I enjoyed it."
"We had a couple of scrambles in the box but sometimes it's just one of those days," he continued. "To come to a team that’s full of confidence and play like we did was pleasing. When you get chances like that you like to think you can take them, but to be creating those chances is only a positive.
"We defended and battled with them well because they were very good in attack. There are a lot of positives to take from it but on another day, and with the amount of chances we had, we could have been coming away with the three points."
"The Notts County game next week will be another tough game," he admitted. "Every game in the division is tough but as long as we turn up, which we're beginning to do more consistently, we've got a good chance.
"The manager has been fantastic in instilling that consistency. Him and the staff set standards and keep raising the bar. We had a tough pre-season and we know we can't rest on our laurels. The manager keeps pushing us and it's getting the best out of all of the players. It's fantastic to be a part of it all.
"It will be a bit strange playing at Deepdale but it's green grass and another football pitch, so we'll adapt to it. It will be nice to play at another ground so we have to take the positives from it. We'll go out there and try and perform as well as we can. We're grateful to Preston for giving us somewhere to play."
"I know Mulls [Johnny Mullins] well because I played with him many years ago. Sometimes it can be difficult to play against someone you know, but it's just one of those things. I knew I needed to get into him hard and show him who was boss. It was a good battle and I enjoyed it."
"We had a couple of scrambles in the box but sometimes it's just one of those days," he continued. "To come to a team that’s full of confidence and play like we did was pleasing. When you get chances like that you like to think you can take them, but to be creating those chances is only a positive.
"We defended and battled with them well because they were very good in attack. There are a lot of positives to take from it but on another day, and with the amount of chances we had, we could have been coming away with the three points."
"The Notts County game next week will be another tough game," he admitted. "Every game in the division is tough but as long as we turn up, which we're beginning to do more consistently, we've got a good chance.
"The manager has been fantastic in instilling that consistency. Him and the staff set standards and keep raising the bar. We had a tough pre-season and we know we can't rest on our laurels. The manager keeps pushing us and it's getting the best out of all of the players. It's fantastic to be a part of it all.
"It will be a bit strange playing at Deepdale but it's green grass and another football pitch, so we'll adapt to it. It will be nice to play at another ground so we have to take the positives from it. We'll go out there and try and perform as well as we can. We're grateful to Preston for giving us somewhere to play."
And on the chances this squad has for mounting a promotion push, he said: "I've been with a couple of teams who have been promoted. Team spirit and hard work are a massive factor and we've got that in abundance here.
"Everyone really gets on and when we went on our Christmas night out all 26 players were there, which you don't often get. We work hard for each other and we all look forward to coming into work. Everyone works hard and stays behind to look at how they can improve - they're all the ingredients of a successful team."
"Everyone really gets on and when we went on our Christmas night out all 26 players were there, which you don't often get. We work hard for each other and we all look forward to coming into work. Everyone works hard and stays behind to look at how they can improve - they're all the ingredients of a successful team."
