It’s make or break for us - Greg Abbott

Dec 24 2010 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

GREG Abbott has branded Carlisle United’s Christmas programme a make-or-break period for the inconsistent Cumbrians.

With games against Oldham, Exeter and Huddersfield – all above them – over the next week Carlisle have an opportunity to fight their way back into the play-off race after the disappointment of home defeat to Dagenham and Redbridge last time out.

Optimistic Abbott naturally sees that as a chance to build momentum ahead of a possible promotion push in 2011 but he recognises that slipping up will also cost them. To emphasise that point they currently sit three points off the top six – but only five from the relegation places.

“I think the next four weeks is going to determine where our season will go. We have the FA Cup, we start the Johnstone’s Paint journey with Huddersfield and there are some really important league games,” he said.

“We’ll either come out of it and have a really successful season still ahead of us or we’ll be fighting to keep it all going. It’s crucial that we get results in the league and that we keep the momentum going, so this is a really important period.

“A run of consistent results could see us right up at the top of the table and we could be very comfortable. If we avoid getting beat then that helps to build up momentum, and we keep drumming into the players that they shouldn’t let this opportunity slip.

“Successful seasons are few and far between, and we are so close to having one of those it’s unreal. However, the whole thing can evaporate into nothing if we’re not careful, and that’s the fine line scenario that we’re talking about at the moment.

“It could be right up there are as a fantastic success, but it could also disappear quickly on us. We think we’re capable of competing on all three fronts so the pressure is on myself and my players to say, right, we’ve got this far, let’s build on it. We just want to make sure that we don’t fall flat.”

As well as wrestling with a packed schedule – a programme that begins with a testing game at seventh placed Oldham on Sunday – Abbott is also busily making plans for the January transfer window.

Desperate to keep hold of Gary Madine despite interest from Reading and Newcastle among others, Abbott is open to shuffling his pack.

“The January transfer window is an exciting time, you can’t get away from that,” he said.

“I do keep saying this, but what we want to try and do is make sure that the squad is as strong as it is now when we come to the end of it. If it can be stronger, then that’s even better.

“If that means that we start to shuffle players around, in and out, then we’ll do it. At the moment we have numbers but there are obvious questions about players who haven’t been playing regularly. If someone did want to give them regular football then we would have to look at that on its merits.

“Whatever we do, it has to fit in financially with what we’re trying to achieve, but if I have gone to the board with something that I’ve wanted to do then they have generally been very good. There could be movement in January but at the moment we can’t promise anything.

“ The squad I have at the moment isn’t bad, so we’re relatively happy.

“What we’ve seen over the last six to eight weeks is that we can’t rest on our laurels.

“There is still a lot of room for improvement and anything that happens in January will be with that in mind.”