MANAGER: Second goal in the game always vitally important

“The second goal in the game was always going to be vitally important and the fact we got it made them become nervous,” he told us. “They had to defend their goal in front of 1,400 Carlisle fans and a bit of doubt started to creep in. We capitalised on that and we made our possession count.

“I have to say I thought it was a penalty because Charlie [Wyke] was pulled to the ground. It was probably the first time we’d missed the near post man with a ball into the area and I thought the lad clambered all over Charlie. He earned the right to take the penalty and he was very calm and assured, and also brave enough and big enough to take it.”

“We were all pleased for Derek [Asamoah] as well,” he commented. “He came to see me last week because he was feeling frustrated about his game time. I told him that I fully understood where he was coming from and that he would get more and more time as the season developed. 

“I know he’s a committed professional who just wants to play. Contributions like this remind us what he can do, even though you won’t find a bigger Derek Asamoah fan than I am.”

“We now have two home games to come and they are going to be great games for us,” he said. “I’ll say this again, because I’ve said it to the players, if we make the play-offs we’ll go up. There’s nothing to be scared of on Tuesday night because we went to Leyton Orient and we beat them with a fantastic and feisty performance. 

“There’ll be passion on the pitch and I’m sure there’ll be a fair amount of commitment as well. This team has come a long way from where we were last season and I think we’re ready to go up against anybody.”