MANAGER: This is when we need you

Keith Curle ahead of a huge game at the weekend

Manager Keith Curle spoke to us about another big game ahead following the important Tuesday night victory over Hartlepool.

“Saturday is massive,” he said. “I know we have about 12 or 13,000 Cumbrians out there who want us to do well. We need to tempt them out because they do help when they’re here and behind us. 

“The atmosphere on Saturday has got to be electric and they have to be the extra person for us. There’s nothing better – and I don’t care who you are – than when the home supporters are singing your name. 

“I’ve got a good relationship with the fans here and that’s because they see I’m prepared to do things which I think are right. We'd love it if the fans could bring a mate or their next door neighbour on Saturday - anybody who has an interest in Carlisle United. 

“This is when we need you. A lot of supporters have been through the gloom in recent years but we've got new people involved at the club and we're trying to create a new impetus. We're moving forward and we’re definitely going in the right direction.”

“The only way we look at things, and it’s been the same ever since I came to this football club, is to look at the next game in turn,” he explained. “We review the game we’ve just played but the focus and attention will then change very quickly to the next one. 

“Our aim is to win every time we go over the white line and we will always make sure we’ve done as much preparation as we can to make that happen.”

On Tuesday night’s clean sheet, he said: “Goalkeepers love clean sheets and we had a lad in goal who had made a mistake at the weekend. 

“We have a very accepting environment here whereby we know that every mistake is an honest one. All you can ask from anyone is that they learn from it. What we don’t do is praise failure, but the players know they will be rewarded for success and for reacting positively when faced with adversity. Mark [Gillespie] did that and he got his reward.

“We got a man of the match performance from Macaulay [Gillesphey] and he deserves a pat on the back for that. He has matured a lot and his development has gone the way Newcastle would have wanted. 

“He’s playing against experienced professionals and this level looks too easy for him at times. I think he’s going to be a very good player, and that’s why we brought him here. He's changed from a young prospect into a player who can step in and hold his own. 

“There’s still more to come from him and we've been picking the right times to play him in the positions where we feel he has strengths. I don't make decisions out of loyalty. I make them based on my belief that we can get more wins than defeats. I do that with a clear head and honesty with every position and player on the pitch.” 

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