Carlisle United Football Club

“Everything is now down in black and white to cover all eventualities and I do think that’s important,” he said. “It means that all parties feel comfortable and they know exactly what the situation is. It has taken longer than people would have expected but there also hasn’t been a rush. 

“The focus has been on the fact we’ve all had work to do and we know what the football club feels about its staff, and the value we put on them. It’s just been a little bit of going back and forward as representatives have had a look at it, and a few adjustments were made here and there. 

“To be honest, if it was the case that it absolutely needed to get done we could probably have been there seven or eight weeks ago. With people going on holiday and the changes to the infrastructure at the Club it has meant that the focus for the coaching staff has been completely on recruitment. 

“That’s a great attitude shown by the staff because all they wanted was to get on with the job in hand knowing their contracts were going to be sorted out. We’re happy with the recruitment process, and pre-season has been going very well, but it is good to get it all over the line.”

On the slight change in structure to include Joint Assistant Managers and a full-time keeper coach, he said: “I see my staff working side-by-side, Simon Tracey included, because I value all of their opinions, knowledge and input equally. 

“The change in role for Lee is a reward for the work he did alongside Colin through last season. I’m telling them now that they are my left and right hand and there is nothing more important as a manager than to know your staff feel valued. 

“We saw that Colin did a lot on a match day from up in the stand, and we will continue with that, but it may be that Lee Dykes will take some of that responsibility as well. We have good communication with the radio microphones to help us get messages to each other and it’s been invaluable to have Colin’s experience up there for us, because you do see the game from a different perspective by doing it.

“With Simon, he joined us on a part-time basis because of the situation at the time but we’re now in a position where he can be full-time. Having said that, he did a lot of good work last season over and above what he was expected to do and what I like about him is that he isn’t just a trainer. He coaches his goalkeepers and he improves them. The amount of games Mark played last season is testament to that and the level of performances we saw were very good. 

“What I have tried to create across the board with everything I do is a unity within the football department and staff where we win, lose and draw together. If results don’t go our way we all feel the pain. I think that’s extremely important because we all have to work very closely together.”