Loss will not curb attacking instincts

Apr 5 2008 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

JOHN Ward insists his Carlisle side will go on the front foot again as they bid to get their promotion campaign back on track.

The Cumbrians suffered their first home defeat for seven months against Nottingham Forest in midweek but their brave effort was rewarded with a standing ovation from an appreciative Brunton Park crowd. Mid-table Yeovil are today’s opponents and Ward is calling for his players to repay the debt they owe their fans by sticking to their attacking principles again against the Glovers.

“There aren’t too many times that you get beaten 2-0 in such an important game and get applauded off. I told the players afterwards that it shows how much they appreciated the way we went about things,” he said.

“I think it was a spontaneous thing too, they reacted to what they saw. We went toe-to-toe with Nottingham Forest and I thought we were unfortunate not to get something out of the game. The players have been talking about it and I think we really owe them one for the way they stuck behind us even at the end when we’d lost. I thought the performance was very encouraging and the manner we attacked was what I wanted.

“I won’t let the result cloud my judgement. We’ve played much worse than that and lost this season and I think if we play like that for the rest of the season we’ll win more games than we lose.”

The midweek defeat might have put a dent in Carlisle’s promotion charge but there was some consolation for the Cumbrians with Ward being named the League One manager of the month for the second successive month and goalkeeper Kieran Westwood scooping the League One supporters’ award for March.

It is a measure of how well Carlisle have performed this season that their current run of no goals and just a solitary point in their last two games represents something of a slump. But Ward is far from panicking over a spell of results that has not reflected some encouraging performances. “People might think the bubble has burst if they haven’t seen us play. But anyone who has seen us play will recognise that we’ve been a bit unfortunate and possibly deserved more than we’ve got,” he said.

“We lost but we’ll deal with it in a positive manner, I’m sure of that. The measure of any good team is how they respond and it’s important that we pick ourselves off the floor and put in a good performance against Yeovil now.

“I think the next three games will shape the season but it is not just us who will be thinking that. It’s the same for Doncaster, Swansea, Leeds – all the teams around us.”

Ward has no fresh injury worries ahead of the visit of Yeovil, who are in the throes of a rebuilding job after losing out in the League One play-off final last season.

Russell Slade’s side lost the core of that successful side and are languishing in mid-table after an inconsistent season. That leaves them with nothing to play for except pride which makes them potentially hazardous assignment for the Cumbrians. and Ward is wary of his side ending up as “fall guys”.

Hartlepool boss Danny Wilson, meanwhile, has told his side he will allow “no let-up” as they hit the home straight of their League One campaign against Bristol Rovers.

Pool are safely nestled in mid-table in their first season back in the third tier, but that is no excuse for their competitive edge being dulled, according to Wilson.

“Anyone who says we’ve got nothing left to play for doesn’t deserve to be in football,” he said. We have a responsibility to the teams around us to approach every game with that will to win. We play Forest, who are looking at the top two, we play Walsall who are looking at the play-offs – there is something riding on every one of our last six games.

“The game against Bristol Rovers is no different. They probably need a few more points to make sure they’re safe but we want to win because we need to finish the season as well as we can.”

Hartlepool are missing Richard Barker, Sam Collins and Gary Liddle for the trip west, and James Brown faces a late fitness test. But there was one bit of good news for Wilson with Tony Sweeney ending speculation about his future by signing a contract extension this week.