Matt Robson on life with Carlisle United
We spoke to midfielder Matt Robson this morning about the recent precautionary treatment he had on his back and about the season ahead as the squad gets ready for the Tuesday night friendly game against Garforth FC.
"The injections I've had were more of a precaution than anything else and that's why I missed a couple of days training," he explained. "It's called prolotherapy and it has basically put a seal around the disc in my back. I have to say it’s worked because I feel great at the moment.
"I knew I was going to have the injections because I spoke to Dolly [physio Neil Dalton] and the doc and it was something they suggested. They waited for the result to come back from tests I had at Sunderland University and then I was able to go ahead and have this treatment.
"I made sure I managed myself properly over the summer because the whole thinking behind this is so that I can hopefully avoid being injured during the season. If it means I don't have to miss any games then I'm comfortable with missing a couple of days during pre-season."
"I was out twice with it last year, both for a couple of weeks, and even though that isn't really a long time it was still massively frustrating," he told us. "Everybody wants to be involved in every single game and I think having these injections is a step in the right direction to help me to achieve that."
"It was good to get some pitch time at Kendal," he admitted. "There's only so much running you can do and you then reach a point where you need to work on your match fitness and sharpness. That's starting to come for all of us and things will only improve as we go on."
And on next season, he said: "I've had four great years here since I moved across from Hartlepool and it speaks volumes that we've only had one bad season during that time.
"We all want to put right what went wrong last season and we're doing everything we can to make sure that's the case."
"Things have obviously changed - it was sad to see some players go - but it's exciting to see the new players come in as well," he insisted. "That's just the way football goes. You've got to move on from whatever it was you had and make sure the new lads feel welcome. I think we've managed to do that.
"I'm looking forward to having a bit more responsibility which comes with being one of the older players in the squad. We'll make sure we look after the young lads and give them any guidance they need. I had that when I was younger and I think I really benefitted from it."
Any mention of Matt Robson brings with it a discussion on where he would be best employed in light of his recent performances in defence.
"I enjoy playing left back, and left midfield, and I think it's important that I can cover both positions for the gaffer," he said. "If we're short on bodies I can fill in and I'm happy to play in whichever position I'm asked to.
"I do prefer playing further up the pitch but as long as I'm in the team I don't mind. I think that would be the same for anyone."
Last season brought with it a healthy eight-goal haul and he was quick to admit that it was something he was looking to repeat, if at all possible.
"I would love to score as many goals as I did last season," he said. "Another disappointment from being injured was that it interrupted that. I wanted to get into double figures.
"If I can get the pitch time then hopefully I can chip in with a few more again this time."
"We're all focused on next season now," he concluded. "We know last wasn't what anyone wanted and we just want to get started again.
“We're looking to be on the front foot from the off. If we can get that first win under our belt against Leyton Orient we can push on from there."
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