We spoke to Sporting Director, Rob Clarkson, to catch up on everything that’s gone on over the past month.
Speaking to CUTV, firstly on the departure of Mike Williamson, he said: “I think it's never easy making a tough decision like that but myself and the owners just felt that we needed a change because the results haven't been good enough and we felt doing it after Saturday would give us plenty of time to get a new manager in before the game tomorrow [against Grimsby Town].
“It’s never easy but ultimately football is a results business and the result on Saturday we didn't feel was good enough. Once they scored the game ran away from us so I think it was the right time.
“As I said, it’s never nice because Mike was a really good guy, really good person but we just felt that it was the right time.”
Many fans were concerned that the decision was made on deadline day, we asked Rob about that and why that wasn’t considered to be an issue. He responded: “We weren't expecting to do much on Deadline Day anyways, business wise.
“There was maybe going to be one player coming in but that was it. Obviously Jack [Robinson] went out but it was never going to be a busy Deadline Day. It became a busy day in terms of trying to then recruit another manager so the timing was what the timing was, but we felt that we needed to let Mike know first thing Monday morning.
“It wouldn't have been fair to let him take training and have another day and then we made the change on Tuesday, so we knew what we were going to do and that was the right time to do it.”
At the Fans' Forum early last month, Rob and the owners backed Mike Williamson, saying he was the man to get us out of danger. Talking on what had changed, Clarkson said: “We didn't get the results that we expected.
“At the Forum, we were all in agreement that we thought Mike would be the right man. It hasn't quite worked out that way, results haven't been good enough and ultimately we find ourselves where we are and we need to get out of it. You always have to back the current manager and believe in the current manager which we did but when the results didn't change and didn't change quickly enough then we felt we needed to make that change.”
We asked Rob about style of play, given the importance of that when recruiting Mike Williamson, and if it was still a focus with Mark. He stated: “Ultimately winning is the most important thing in any sport but what we don't want to do is go away from the style of play. The style of play is important and the players we've got are good footballers.
“The new manager coming in knows that and he's keen to work with that. He's not a manager that's going to come in and change everything and totally change the way we play. It'll be more subtle tweaks and him using his experience in terms of in-game management.
“He might tweak the system here and there as he sees fit based on the opposition or based on what teams do during games. But in general, we still want to see an exciting and good style of football that the Carlisle fans will enjoy watching and really get behind. So it's certainly not going to be an extreme change like it might have been from what the fans have seen previously.”
Speaking on the process that was undertaken to recruit Mark, Rob said: “With the recruiting of a new Head Coach, the process never really stops because in football you never know how long a manager is going to be here. So you always have to be prepared because they might move to another club or we may have to make a change.
“So you're always, as a Sporting Director, trying to look and see what's out there in terms of what coaches are out there that could be a good fit for us, what style of player do they want, what experience have they got.
“And then once you've actually made that change then you have to move as quickly as you can. So the process in essence started Monday morning, Sunday really, and I approached quite a few Head Coaches, not loads because we didn't want to speak to too many.
“We were quite specific with who we spoke to. Some were up for the challenge, some weren't, which is natural given where we are in the league. Once we knew that Mark was a real possibility and he was interested, that was when we really pushed ahead with him because I felt that his experience is exactly what we need at this moment in time.
“He's very calm, he's very measured. He's a good person, that's really important.
“We didn't want to bring in somebody who was not a good person and was not a good fit for the group of staff and players that we've got. But ultimately what he's done in the game, it speaks for itself. He's managed 650-odd games so nothing is going to phase him.
“Nothing that happens in these next 18 games is going to phase him. He's more than capable of changing in-game, before the games. I just felt that would be really, really important for us in these next 18 games and it will really help the players.”
Rob also cleared up a few things, in regards to discussions with other candidates, and the retention of the coaching staff, saying: “I think what we're trying to create here is Carlisle United and we want to get away from a club that is purely manager-led. To make this club a sustainable club and a club that wants to be in the Championship, which is what it wants to be, we can't have a big turnaround of staff.
“We can't have a big turnaround of five staff out, five staff in. That's not going to work. We need to be sure that we have good staff, good support for the Head Coach and Assistant.
“Every coach that I spoke to, they had no issue with that. Generally in the game now, that's what happens. You bring an assistant and you work with the existing staff.
“That's pretty standard across the board. That's the model that I think is the best for us moving forward. We've got some good staff, but they are young.
“Hence the reason why I felt that the experience of Mark and Glyn, because they've both been in the game a long time and they're both very well respected, were going to be perfect for the existing staff that we've got here as well.”
Mark has spoke in his interview about switching things up when necessary, we asked Rob if that was a key part in why he was chosen. Rob said: “Yes, it was.
“It's hard to get that in-game experience and know-how of how to tweak it unless you've been there and you've done it and you've seen it so many times. That was key. I think we do need to be flexible.
“We do need to be able to tweak things in-game, judging on how the game swings, how the game flows and also what the opposition do. So, yes, his know-how and his ability. We've already chatted around systems and formations and he's kind of open to tweaking it a little bit.
“He's played with the three at the back before, he's played with the four at the back before, so he's going to do whatever's best for the group of players that we've got.”
Clarkson continued to discuss the recruitment process, saying: “I spoke to Mark's son, who is also his agent, and I had a good chat with him. From then on, I then spoke to Mark.
“It was a really good conversation with his son. I was really impressed with the fact that he was up for the challenge, given what he's done in the game. He could have looked at us and thought, I don't need that at the moment, given the CV he's got.
“But he went away, did a lot of work on the squad and the group and looked at our previous games. Then he said, yeah, I think me and Glyn could really have an effect and really get this group away from where we are. Once I knew he was really up for the challenge, then it was a no-brainer in my eyes.
“They're very clear in what they want. They've been very clear with the staff and very clear with the players in terms of this is how it is. It's a huge 18 games.
“The clarity that they'll bring to the group will be really important. Ultimately, I think we've got enough good players in there that they can work with to get results on the pitch.”
On Glyn Hodges, Mark’s Assistant, Rob said: “Again, [he's] another brilliant person.
“He's a character and he's a real presence. Even this morning on the training pitch, he's a really big presence. He commands respect from all the boys and he's very clear with what he wants.
“You get that from having so many years in the game and so many training sessions and so many games. He'll be really, really important for the players and also the staff. The staff will learn a lot from Glyn and Mark, I'm sure.”
We also touched on the change in role for Chris Bell, who is now the Performance Director at the club. Rob explained: “Chris has got a really good background in medicine, sports science, psychology and nutrition. He's going to oversee those elements of the support staff.
“It takes that off my plate. I know that he'll manage that really well. There's less pressure for him to be on the grass and he can really focus on driving the S&C and the medicine and the kit and everything and making sure that's the best it possibly can be.
“As I said, if we want to get this club to the Championship, then everything around it, all the support staff, everything we do off the pitch, has got to be of a really, really high level.
“Chris is going to be really good in that area. Again, Mark and Glyn's experience will only help us shape that as well from what they've seen in the Premier League and over the years of their career.”
We then moved on to discussing the transfer window, Rob’s first as a Sporting Director. We asked him how it was, he replied: “Busier than I would normally have liked.
“We felt that we needed a big turnaround in playing staff. We knew that there was going to be some players going out and we knew that we needed to bring players in. When you're at the bottom of League Two, it suggests that there does need to be a little bit of a change in playing staff.
“It was busier than usual. We wouldn't normally like to do that much business in a January window, but we felt it was needed.
“Generally, we felt it was needed. We identified positions that we thought were key for us. We identified types of players that we felt we needed.
“We're always open to opportunities, but I would say all of the players that we signed really were targeted early and we managed to do some good business.”
Rob then walked us through how a transfer comes about, and how players are identified and recruited: “Someone like Will Patching, for example, was a player whose data was very, very high in what he'd done in Ireland. We used that, coupled that with the video scouting and then also the guys flying over to Ireland to watch him play over there.
“We then brought him over. He met myself, he met the manager, he had a look around, we pitched to him and did a presentation in terms of where we saw him fit into the team, but also where we want to be as a club.
“Then we managed to agree a deal with him and he came in at the start of the window. It's always nice when you can get players in early, which we did do.
“Like I said, we weren't doing too much towards the end of the window. Most of it was at the start.”
We also raised with Rob the fact that some people had spoken about the players brought in being Mike’s players, with a few having worked with him before. Rob said:
“Again, it's similar to when I talk about staffing. These are Carlisle players, and Carlisle staff, it's not a manager-led club.
“It may have been in the past, but it's not anymore. We have a structure and we have a way of working and that's why I'm here. Every player we sign has to be a player that we feel is good enough for Carlisle United.
“Three of the boys had played for Mike before. Cedwyn Scott, Stephen Wearne and Callum Whelan.
“But again, Wearne had a lot of interest in League One and League Two, so there was competition there and he's a good player.
“Callum Whelan's data was extremely high last season in the National League. We've already seen what a really good player he is. They're not Mike Williamson players, they're not Mark Hughes players, they're Carlisle United players and we feel that whoever we sign, they're going to be good enough players to help us move forward.
“And again, bringing Mark in, he's not going to totally rip up the style of play. He's going to change it, he's going to tweak it, he's going to do what he feels is right to get results. But we do want a certain brand of football and a certain type of player that's going to help us win games and move forward.”
With the window closed, we asked Rob if the club was taking a look at any free agents. He responded: “Yeah, there is potentially one who could come in as a free agent and help us from now until the end of the season. So we are looking, but just one.”
Rob then spoke directly to the supporters, saying: “I know it's been a tough season for all of us. I've only been here for three months or so but it's felt like a lot longer.
“It’s never nice making the change that we did on Monday, but I felt that it was the right change. I feel like Mark is going to be really, really good for us. I've already seen that in the first two days.
“A big thing we've chatted about already is the home form. It needs to change. We have to start winning more home games and we're really going to need the fans to get behind us.
“Get behind Mark, get behind the players, get behind the ownership. They're giving everything. I've got no doubt that there's enough quality in there to get us away from where we are.
“Just back us as much as you can. I know how good the support is. I'm sure that we can turn that home form around and start winning games.”
