United have made a mixed start to the season, but Junior Luamba feels there have been plenty of positives under new Head Coach Rob Elliot, with the squad continuing to adapt to his ideas and structure.
“I think, obviously, the new gaffer’s come in. He’s come with a plan, he’s come with a structure,” Luamba said.
“Personally, I think the performances haven’t been too bad. Obviously, with some games, the result probably didn’t reflect our performances.
“But I think we’re in a good position. We’re still training hard, working hard, and we’ve still got a massive chunk of the season to go.
“If we continue to perform well, then the results are going to come.”
Luamba has primarily been used from the bench so far this season, but the forward is focused on making the most of every opportunity he gets.
“There’s a lot of competition for places, but for me, I focus on myself,” he explained.
“I focus on what I can control. If I’m starting on the bench or starting games, it’s just about doing the best for the team and doing the best I possibly can to help the team get the result that we want to get.”
The 23-year-old has also enjoyed his role within Elliot’s system, which allows him to operate across the frontline.
“What Rob’s asking me to do suits me down to a T,” Junior said.
“I kind of think of myself as a forward player where I can operate as a nine, as a 10 or down both flanks.
“For me, it’s just about bringing my strengths to the team and doing the best I possibly can to help the team as much as possible.”
Luamba opened his account for the season against Scunthorpe United and was delighted to get back among the goals after a frustrating period that saw him miss matches.
“I was really happy to open my account for the season,” he said.
“Even pre-season and the games I had to miss out, it was quite frustrating not being able to be on the pitch and helping the boys.
“When I came on, I had that kind of urge to just play my game. I was itching to be back, to be quite honest.
“I’m just happy that I managed to find the net and long may that continue.”
The forward believes maintaining a positive mindset has been important as he looks to build on his second season with the Blues.
“I want to do well for myself, but I also know that I have responsibilities when I’m on the pitch to help the team.
“With the players that we’ve got in, it’s just about being ready. When you’re on the pitch, just doing as much as you can to help the team succeed.”
Attention now turns to Southend, who Luamba expects to provide another difficult test.
“They’ve got good players and it’s not going to be a game to take lightly,” he said.
“But I think we’re more than capable of getting a positive result against them.
“We’ve got to trust the analysis that we do and the work we do on the pitch. I think, for the large majority of everything that we do, everyone’s buying into the project. We just need to continue to do that.”
United have also been working on becoming more ruthless in both boxes, but Luamba believes that will come with time and continued work on the training pitch.
“It’s about trusting the plan and all the work that we do in training,” he said.
“That ruthless mentality is going to come with more games that we play. It’s just about being calm in front of goal.
“I think there’s a lot of goals in the team, so it’s just about trusting the process.”
With Southend expected to see plenty of the ball, Luamba says United must remain patient while focusing on their own strengths.
“We’re not naive to not take their good players into account, but at the same time, we need to focus on ourselves.”
And with another evening kick-off at Brunton Park, Luamba called on the supporters to create another big atmosphere.
“Carlisle is a big club. When we can get good numbers in the ground, it really does help the players. It does push us.
“The push that they give us and the lift that gives us as players on the pitch is something that I can’t really describe.
“Hopefully they can turn out good numbers again at the weekend and hopefully help us to get a good result.”
