Last week, we spoke to Chairman Tom Piatak.
Speaking to CUTV on the appointment of Mark Hughes, he said: “His experience and leadership was absolutely critical. I mean, the fact that he's been here [as an opposition manager], he's been in this situation with other clubs is absolutely critical. Having somebody that could immediately come in and command the respect of the players because change is always difficult and that causes some turmoil.
“And then there's that learning period. But for Mark and Glyn to come in with their experience, with their leadership, I think they immediately had the respect of the players saying, wow, you know, this is somebody we can really learn from and grow from. And I think he's been a perfect fit.
“His enthusiasm, his leadership, just the way he's related to the supporters, the way he's engaged the supporters and his interviews. I think it speaks for itself. You can hear the clarity in his voice.
“You can hear the leadership. It's not going to be easy. It's never easy. I mean, this is the EFL.
“This is football. It’s not going to be easy, but we can get this done. You know, I think everybody hears that and gets that confidence.
“And then seeing the performances in the recent matches, they didn't all go our way. I mean, Newport County, we watched that from Florida and we were crushed. But the way we played was absolutely fantastic.
“We didn't get the result, and that's the way, you know, the nature of the game sometimes. But we saw the progress, and we saw just the changes that he's made. And then his interview was just fantastic
“The way he was saying we played well and we're going to take the positives from this. We're going to build upon this. It gave me the confidence, and I'm sure it gave the players the confidence to say, don't be disheartened.
“You played well. We did well. We executed well.
“We didn't get the bounces that we should have. And sometimes when you're in the position we are, you don't get those, they don't go your way. But things are going to turn.
“I just think the way he's handled it with the supporters, the way he's handled it with the squad, just internally here at the club, he's fit right in. He's added value immediately and relates well with all constituents of the club.”
Tom also touched on Glyn Hodges, saying: “They've been together for a long time.
“Glyn's tactical awareness and just being able to see what's going on in the pitch, along with Mark, but they're actually a very, very strong team. They work well together. And I think that's important.
“Sometimes everybody needs someone to lean on, someone that's been there with them, somebody that knows how you think, what you would be doing if you weren't there. Glyn brings that to the table. He's a great personality, a great presence on not just the training pitch, but during the matches as well.
“You can see that they work well together. And I'm just thankful that he was willing to give up a cruise and come on board, given our situation, and I think we're all going to see the benefits of that.”
We saw Mark Hughes really engage with the fans at Brunton Park last week, and the crowd got right behind him, Tom spoke on the importance of that relationship, saying: “It's critical. The club is the club, but the supporters are the club too. The supporters are absolutely critical to the club, and Mark realises that, and everyone should realise that.
“He knew we needed energy. We're at home. We have not been good at home, and we need to change that.
“And for him to do that and for it to just be spontaneous just tells you something about his competitive spirit, his nature. It wasn't fabricated.
“We need to start now. We need to start at home.
“We all know what needs to happen over the next 15 matches, and he sees that. And having the supporters with us, we're all in this together. I mean, I can assure you every decision that's made here at the club, by every aspect, every individual at the club, we're all focused on doing the best thing for the club and trying to win.
“And it was a natural reaction for him to do that, and I think everybody saw that and saw the energy and got right behind him. And the second-half was just amazing to watch, the changes he made, the changes he made after that first-half.
“We looked like a different team. We were attacking. I mean, when I look at that match, the draw, okay, we got a point.
“We know we need to get three points to start moving up the table. One point kind of keeps you level, but you have to win. But everybody saw that there was really only going to be one team that was going to win that match.
“The energy was there. And so I'm confident that the players saw that, and they left with confidence saying, we played well, we finished that match, we finished strong, and we can take that to the next match. And I think the supporters saw that as well and stood behind the team.
“And that's important because we're going to need all the help we can over the next 15 matches from everybody to dig in and support this club, support what we're trying to do. We're all in this fight together. We're all trying to do the best thing for the club, and I'm confident we'll get there.
“Mark said himself that the relationship with the fans, that passion on the touchline was one of the things he probably missed the most. He's shown that he's totally committed to this, even just by taking on the challenge in the first place.
“I think he looked at this and said, what a tremendous challenge, what a great club.
“He sees the geography kind of as I see it, the positives around that, and what we can build up here can be a very, very strong foothold.
“You know, as I say, a fortress here in the north. I think he sees that as well. But, yeah, it's just in him, the competitive nature's in him, and you can't contain that.
“It's going to come out naturally. It's going to come out, and it did. And I think we're going to continue to see that over the next few matches.
“And that's part of his leadership, his ability, his competitive spirit, his fight. He's not going to take lacklustre performances. He's going to push the lads during the practices, you know, during the training.
“He's going to push them every way they can in ways that they probably didn't know that they could get pushed.”
Discussing this season, Tom said: “Survival is critical. That's the entire focus.
“Do we have contingency plans? Yes, we have contingency plans. But survival is the only focus.
“That's where we want everybody in the club, everybody, supporters, everyone in the club, coaching staff, players just focused on survival right now. We have 15 matches. We have time to do it.
“We know what a challenge it is, but it is doable. So right now that's the pure focus.
“Mark is the right man to do it. I can't tell you how thrilled I was when we reached out and there was interest on his part.
“I know you're never going to please everybody. But I know the majority of the supporters, the majority say he's the right person to lead us out of this, and I think we're seeing that right now. So, I mean, I was absolutely thrilled that we were able to bring him on board and just delighted when I was able to speak to him.
“And I just said thank you. Thank you for coming in. Thank you for taking the challenge.
“I hope you see what we see, what we all see up here. We have the assets. We have the resources. We have the players. We've just got to get them to come together. And he said that.
“The talent's here. He said the talent's in the club. There's no doubt about that.
“So he saw that, and for him to make that decision and to come up and do what he's doing I think is a blessing for all Cumbria and all Carlisle, and we all need to get united behind him and survive, and I think we will.”
Tom then spoke about the transfer window, and the new experience of working with Rob Clarkson during it, saying: “It was exciting to see the process. We tried to bring in the process of the technology, the data, and just make sure that they follow the process so that we see beyond, you know, just our normal scope of players that we may have seen.
“I look at it and say, did we bring in some players that Mike had played with before? Yes, but they went through the process, and they were identified with the metrics and everything to say these individuals can add value to the team in both the short-term and the long-term, and that's what we're trying to focus on - getting the right squad, build the right team, build the right chemistry that can see us through for not just the short-term but the long-term as well.
“He followed the process meticulously. His updates, you know, we spoke daily. We had formal meetings weekly, but we spoke daily throughout the process.
“Every player that was signed, was signed as a club player that said this individual can help Carlisle United move forward short-term and long-term. The redundancies of this position is a position of need, and here's our number one target, two target, three target, four target. To see that and see that graphically portrayed and just know that, you know, we didn't always get our number one.
“I will say we did secure a lot more of them than probably we have in the past, and that's a credit to Carlisle. That's a credit to the club that players see the journey that we're on and see where we're headed and say, I believe in this path. I want to be here.
“I believe in the fans. I believe in the local support. I believe in what the club's trying to do and where we're trying to go, and so we were able to get what I think are some very, very good players, but following that process has been a joy to watch, and we're going to continue to do that.
“We continue to have that, and he's very organised, methodical, very well connected, very well respected, and just a great addition, you know, to the start of the football operations and overseeing football operations.
“The processes that he's followed in signing those players mean that the ones that are signed on longer-term contracts fit the club and don't fit a specific manager, which is really useful.
“As difficult as it was to make the change from Mike, because, like I said, we really respected Mike and have great admiration for him and his staff, the players were chosen because we think they're a good fit for Carlisle United, and we think they're good for the short-term, and we think they're good for the long term.
“We did sign some to longer contracts, and I view that as a positive. I want to see that because we have to have continuity in our play as we move forward, so we need to play winning football, but we also need to be strong and continually strong and have that consistency versus always changing, significantly changing the squad.”
