Newcastle United striker Alex Gilliead on his extended loan spell
We caught up with Newcastle United striker Alex Gilliead to talk about his loan extension, his international exploits and his preparations for the game against Exeter City.
Speaking first about his season long loan deal, he said: “I’m happy to be here. Like I said before I joined up with England, I wanted to get it extended and I wanted to stay because I’ve been enjoying it here. I’m happy to be back and I’m happy to be staying until the end of the season.
“I knew there was a good chance something would happen because before I went away my agent contacted me and said that Keith [Curle] was happy with how Macaulay [Gillesphey] and I were doing. He said it looked like Carlisle would keep us until Christmas, but he told me the best option was to stay until the end of the season if that choice came up.
“He came along to see me and my mam and he confirmed that was the case. He asked if I wanted to stay and I was more than happy to be able to do that.”
“It does give you a lot of confidence when you hear the manager wants you,” he admitted. “I was watching Macaulay’s interview on the official website yesterday and everything he said was true.
“It makes you feel wanted. Everything over in Newcastle is about concentrating on the first team at the moment, and rightly so, so it’s good for us that Carlisle want us to be part of their first team squad.”
On his ten-day overseas trip with the England U20 set-up, he said: “It was really good. We played three games - against Germany, Holland and Turkey. We beat Holland and Turkey but we lost the other one.
“It’s always surreal playing for England with the walking out, singing the national anthem and everything like that. It’s what you dream about when you’re younger and you just want to carry on doing it, so hopefully I can. I know not many people get there but I would love to represent them at senior level as well.”
On his hopes for the remainder of the season with Carlisle United, he said: “I knew this was a passing team when I first got here and that’s how it has turned out. That’s good because it suits my style of play.
“We seem to be doing well away from home and I think we’ve got a team which could push for the play-offs or even automatic promotion. I don’t see why that couldn’t happen.
“On a personal level, my contract is up at Newcastle at the end of the season but I’m obviously hoping to get another one. I’m hoping to be involved with England again as well. They have another two games in France next month, and they play Ghana at home in February, and I would love to be involved.
“Other than that I just want to stay fit so that I can play for Carlisle. It’s fantastic to be playing in front of people, when it matters, so I just want to carry on doing what I’m doing really.”
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