We spoke to the manager today to get all of the latest news:

"We've had a strange run with injuries recently, but there's nothing much that you can do about it. You just have to get on with it and make sure that the players keep their focus.

We were pleased to hear that Jeff Smith was clear of any broken bone worries but, unfortunately, it looks like he will be out for a fairly long time anyway. I think, even if we were to find ourselves in the play-offs, that he would struggle to be match fit for that, so it's a real blow for him. It's also a blow for me, because he has always had a shirt during my time here, and he's been a very important member of the squad. It's disappointing news for a number of reasons, but I'm sure he'll be back in the future.

We played a Reserve fixture yesterday, as you know, and both Danny Carlton and Gary Madine picked up knocks, so that added to our injury list. That does make you look at the number of players that you may be losing, and that's why I decided to bring Kev Gall back in to the fold. He's an experienced player, he knows the club and he knows what I'm after. I also know what he wants, so it's good to have him back.

I think Gary Madine will probably be alright for Saturday, but we'll have to have another look at Danny Carlton tomorrow to see where he is at. Bringing Kev Gall back at this moment in time, in these circumstances, was definitely the right thing for us to do. I'm also looking at whether we might make a move in the loan window. We've been saying all along that we do have people in mind, if ever we needed them, and the knocks that we've picked up recently have made us think about that a bit more. We've still got two weeks from today to make those decisions, but we have to have it in mind that we have games coming at us thick and fast. Easter weekend will see us play on Saturday and then Monday, and it goes on like that for a while afterwards, so there is a lot of football ahead. It's important that we don't run out of players during that spell, so the loan window is an option for us.

Good news for us is that we've been able to have a look at Darren Campion over the course of the short term contract that we gave him, and we asked him to push himself and prove that he was worth another contract offer. He's done that and he's played very well at both left back and centre back in the Reserves, and the management team at the club think very highly of him. We have decided that we weren't going to mess about, and we've offered him another year, until the summer of 2009. He's settled well in to the club, he is enjoying it here, and he now knows that he can push even further on and start to challenge for a place in the first team. To be fair, we don't think he's too far away from that at the moment.

We've also been talking to Adam Bradley recently, with a view to reaching an agreement to settle up his contract, and he has accepted that. He has left the club now, and he is trying to find another one so that he can continue his career. Neale McDermott has been training with Hartlepool United, and has played a few Reserve games with them, but we could actually do without turning that in to a loan at this exact moment in time. However, we have told him that we won't be extending his contract at the end of the season so, if he can find another club, we'd be pleased to help him out with that in any way that we can.

We're on a good run of wins at the moment, but what that means is all secondary to the fact that what we want is another 3 points on Saturday. It would be nice to equal the club record, of course it would, but, if we do, then the important thing will be that we have won another game. To be doing that at this important stage of the season is always greatly received. Whatever the records are that these lads pick up, my next aim is to get to 70 points, and if we have done that come Saturday night then I will be absolutely thrilled with that. Swindon will be a tough fixture, as they all are in this Division, but their place is not an easy one to go to by any stretch of the imagination. We're going to have to play a bit better than we did in the second half on Tuesday, if we do want to win it, so I'll want to see that we have lifted ourselves and gone out there to win the game.

I haven't set myself a points target in terms of a final total, but we're on 67 at the moment, so the next step has to be 70. Psychologically that would be a great number to look at, and it would look a tough number for those behind us to chase. That's my first target, and that's all that I have in mind at the moment.

All distances are long ones for Carlisle United, and we follow the trip to Swindon with the game at Leyton Orient. That one is immediately followed by the Northampton home game on the Monday. There's a lot of travelling around to do, so the preparation is vital. If we can get the Swindon game out of the way with a good performance then the lads can rest up a bit as they get ready for Orient. It's an exciting time for us all though, and we wouldn't want it to be any other way. As each game comes along it will get bigger for us, and it will mean that much more, and we will have to cope. Let's enjoy it, let's take the challenge on and, to be fair, I think the team are embracing it fully. They aren't frightened of it, which is a great feeling for me to have, because I know that I can put them out there and not worry about confidence or anything like that, and let's hope it continues."