Ben Amos on staying at Brunton Park
Manchester United keeper Ben Amos spoke to us about his stay at Carlisle United shortly after agreeing a loan extension which keeps him at Brunton Park until after the Crewe Alexandra away game in January.
“I’m delighted this has happened because it’s a chance for me to get more games and to get even more experience,” he said. “I’ve been pleased with my form and I want to keep that going as well.”
“I’ve absolutely loved the last month,” he confirmed. “You can’t beat playing games and we’ve had some tough ones along the way. I’m hoping I can play my part in helping the team to climb up the league.
“I don’t think there are any standout highlights for me. Just being able to play games has been enough. Playing in front of a crowd is what it’s all about so I’ve been enjoying that side of things.
“At this stage of my career I need to be playing competitive football. I’m involved in games at the moment where we’re playing for points and we’ve got players who are effectively playing for careers. That’s when it really matters and it brings a real edge to everything we do.
“In my position it means you can’t switch off at all. In the last ten minutes of the game you find teams start shelling the ball into the box and you get their forwards challenging and clattering you. It’s all part of it and it’s good to be involved.”
“The reaction from the Carlisle fans to me has been very nice,” he admitted. “I just try to concentrate on what I can control and that’s the football side of things. If they appreciate that then of course it’s really pleasing.”
“Looking back I conceded a goal right at the end of my first game [Crawley] and I actually felt really at ease with what I’d done at the time,” he told us. “I felt like I’d played well and unfortunately it was one of those goals where I’d started going to my right and the ball moved to my left.
“It’s possible I committed slightly early but it was one where I was left to think about what I could have done differently. I know it didn’t look good but I didn’t get hung up about it. It’s just one of those things and the important part is how you move on from it.”
“Working with Tony Caig and Greg Fleming has been good this last month,” he said. “They’ve been great with me and we seem to find a lot of boring goalkeeper stuff to talk about and to see us through.
“The only frustrating thing has been missing out on the FA Cup games. The Brentford game was a really good one and the draw has been favourable as well. It’s not something I can do anything about so I will just concentrate on playing as well as I can when I’m picked.
“Greg [Fleming] played well last week so there is real competition for who starts at the moment. I train with him every day so I know how good he is. We work well together and we both know it doesn’t matter even if it was Peter Schmeichel who was behind us. If you’re picked and doing your job then it’s all that matters."
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