INTERVIEW: You want to be part of it

“When we took over one of the first things I said to Kav was – the king is dead, long live the king,” he said. “It's unfortunate that this is the way it has to be in football, but that’s the industry we’re in. 

“You’re obviously very sad when a manager and a friend leaves, but you have to move on quickly. You can’t dwell on things because, if you do, then you find the negative feelings affect everyone.”

“Fortunately we’ve been able to pick the baton up and run with it,” he added. “We’ve changed a few things because everybody is different. Kav is his own man ... he is absolutely his own man, but there has been a real feeling from the staff that they want to get behind him. 

“We will work relentlessly to continue to try to improve Carlisle United’s status. There’s a real attention to detail and a commitment from everybody. I know Kav has mentioned this a lot, but he’s absolutely right in what he has said. Everyone has responded to the challenge and we think what we’re doing now is ultimately for the benefit of the club.”

On working with the new manager, he said: “He’s the type of person who inspires and motivates, and you just want to be part of what he’s trying to do.

“I’m honoured and delighted that he’s taken me on board because we seem to have clicked. I find that he inspires me in what I do. He’s energetic, enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable. He’s played at the top level as a player and he has a really good grounding as a coach, having worked so closely with Greg, and he knows the club inside out.”

“On the Monday when Greg left the club asked the three of us to keep the club ticking over and it was instantly a challenge that all three of us wanted,” he explained. “We’ve had three good results but I told Kav, when he got the job officially the other day, that the hard work starts now. 

“We need to continue to drive each other as a group and to keep challenging the squad. We’ve got ambitions to really push the club forward. Now that Kav has been appointed full time the doubt has been removed from the position. 

“I think the lead up to the Notts County game on Saturday was the most difficult of the three games because we knew that the interview process had been completed. It was then a case of wondering what was going on. We all spoke about the different scenarios and I suppose there was a nagging doubt that it might not go the way we wanted it to. 

“That’s all done and dusted now and we’re in a position where we want to get on with the job and hopefully become a really successful management team.”