The United squad will be heading south by train this weekend as they look to avoid any Coronation weekend or Bank Holiday traffic on the roads as they prepare as well as they possibly can for the final scheduled league game of the season at Sutton on Monday afternoon (kick off 12.30pm).
“We’re going to travel down on the train on Sunday afternoon, so we’re doing something a little bit different,” manager Paul Simpson explained. “That means we know it’s going to be 3hr 20 on the train rather than anything between three-and-a-half and seven hours on a bus.
“The bus will meet us down there and we’ll get over to the hotel, and prepare the same way. It’s slightly different in terms of the fact it’s not a breakfast and pre-match.
“The pre-match will be breakfast, but it will still be the similar sort of preparation. All those things are excuses if you use that. We have to make sure there are no excuses and we go and do it as well as we possibly can.”
On how the train journey has been finalised, he explained: “The club have pushed the boat out and I think I’m right in saying Avanti have looked after us and done a deal for us as well.
“It’s a fantastic gesture from the club to find the extra money for it, which I really appreciate. Going on the train makes it really straightforward for us.
“It is something I’d like to do moving forward. But I’m also fully aware it costs a lot of money. I can’t stamp my feet and say I want to go on the train, because at a club like ours every pound’s a prisoner and we have to make sure it’s all spent properly.”
With an elongated week of prep ahead of the Sutton game, he said: “The lads have been ok, they’ve been fine. They’ve trained, they’ve had rest days.
“Today [Saturday] they were really lively, where we started to touch on a bit of the prep for the Sutton game. We’ll do our final bits before we leave, and I would like to think they’re going to be ready. We know what we need to do.
The truth is I don’t think it’s any different to what we’ve had to do in any games. We’re going down there to win it and we’ll deal with whatever comes. If we don’t win it, make sure we don’t lose it, simple as that.”
Many of the fans will be leaving their homes in the small hours of the Monday morning as over a thousand ready themselves to cheer the Blues on.
“It’s incredible,” he agreed. “That is some dedication. I’ve heard about the swell of support we’ve had for the Sutton game and I believe there are people going down in fancy dress.
“We have to make sure it’s a proper celebration, and we do that by going to perform and getting the result so come the end of the game it can be a celebration, and the fans have enjoyed their day out.
“With the timing of kick-off I don’t think there’s been any consideration given to supporters like ours who have to make a trip from Carlisle to Sutton. There’s been zero consideration as to how they’re going to get there.
“I don’t really know what other games are going on in the country but I can’t believe there’s any who have got that sort of journey to make. Fair play to our fans for making that journey – it’s absolutely brilliant, and it’s massively appreciated as well.”