Everything Grant McCann said on Carlisle win, Joseph Olowu, Doncaster Rovers injuries and title aim

Q: What's your reaction to today's win?

GM: "I thought it was a controlled performance from us. First half wasn't happening really was it? We got a good goal but then second half we were better. They had a few chances but we limited them. I said in the week that it was a credit to Mark Hughes and how he's gone about it since going in because managing someone else's players is never easy.

"But you can see he's got a tune out of them and they're hard to break down so we had to be calm and patient at times.

"When we got the first goal I was pleased to get it because I know we're strong in second halves and I thought we were really good second half, scoring twice to take the game away from them."

Q: How much did was that second goal needed, to give everyone a bit of breathing space?

GM: "We had to be patient because this is a team scrapping for every point to stay in this league. The ramifications for that club, if they do drop into the National League, will be huge because I know having spoken to people in League Two that they (Carlisle) probably have one of the biggest budgets in the division.

"So we had to be calm and be in control and then the second goal is really good. It's a tremendous pass from Luke Molyneux and an excellent finish from Jordan (Gibson). I'm really pleased for him because he's had so many chances where he should score and we just said to him to keep getting in those positions because eventually it'll come."

Q: Jordan won man of the match today and when he's on song he's a joy to watch isn't he?

GM: "He is. There's been a turning point in him that we've noticed over the last two or three months. He's starting to understand the position more. It took Luke (Molyneux) quite a bit of time too, to understand what we want from him. Haks (Hakeeb Adelakun) who played here last season knew how we worked from being at Hull together so that was quite simple.

"Jordan has been in tremendous form recently and I'm pleased for him because he's a good kid and he's reaping his rewards."

Q: Is it essentially about learning on the job for him?

GM: "Yeah, it's just repetition really. It's about keep showing him what we ask of that position. Some get it quicker than others. I'd say Jordan maybe took half a season to fully understand what we want of him. At Carlisle he was asked to do something slightly different but we saw something in him, hence why we brought him to the club. I just think he'll get better and better."

Q: A clean sheet today, possibly aided by Richard Wood's involvement at home for the first time since the opening day?

GM: "I've had a really, really tough ten days or so from a family point of view. Losing my mother wasn't easy for me or the family.

"But when I spoke to Cliff (Byrne, assistant) - because I'd missed a few days training - he told me how good Woody has been training. He's getting better all the time and I'm really pleased because he's had a stop-start season. You can see today some of the passes he broke lines with, you maybe don't associate that with Woody. But he was excellent and I'm really pleased for him."

Q: How important is this win after a tough few weeks?

GM: "If I'm honest, me and Cliff wondered how the boys would be. But Cliff told me the boys trained well last week and I think we managed to get the rest and training load balance right. That's always difficult in an international break. Many times at Hull we changed it a few times and we just couldn't get the right formula. We got it right here though. I think the boys got stronger today as the game went on, the subs helped and it was everyone pulling in the same direction today."

Q: The two subs Billy Sharp and Harry Clifton made an immediate impression when they came on didn't they?

GM: "Yeah and I was really pleased to see Harry take that chance. Billy did well in the move too. It was a really good, clever goal and a tidy finish from Harry. He was touch and go today. He's missed alot of training in the last few weeks because of a knee problem but I was pleased for him to get the goal."

Q: You made six subs. Why was that allowed?

GM: "It was because Carlisle made a concussion sub. When we made the last sub (our fifth) it was either Jamie Sterry or George Broadbent who were coming off. George had been booked and was cramping a little bit but we went with Jamie because we felt George could handle the situation. But once we got Jamie off, we don't want to be losing anyone else so we brought Zain on at the end."

Q: What's the latest on the injury front?

GM: "We expected Jay McGrath, Joe Ironside and James Maxwell to be back. We obviously expected Jamie Sterry back because he just had an injection (to be able to play). But then in the international break we found out Joseph Olowu will be out for the rest of the season. He's had an operation today which is a massive blow for us because he's been outstanding this season but it's a similar sort of injury to what Zain Westbrooke had on his thigh, so we'll miss him.

"Joe Ironside had an operation on a double hernia earlier this week which will not keep him out too long. He should be out for a week to ten days. It's been niggling away at Joe for the last few months and he's just been managing it. He hasn't missed much training but Dave (Rennie, head of medical) rang me in the week and said we need to get it done. The quickest he's had anyone back from a double hernia is five days which tells you how good Dave is! I'm expecting probably seven to 10 with Joe. I think he'll be able to get cracking from Monday really, on the bike and stuff like that so we'll just take it day by day.

"Jay is getting close but today came too soon for him. We hope he'll be back on the pitches Monday with the rest of the team.

"James Maxwell's toe is not healing quick enough. When you've broke your toe, it is hard. The boots nowadays are really thin and narrow and there's no real leeway. But he's getting there. It's been maybe three or four weeks since he did it so he's getting better.

Q: Bad news on Olowu and obviously he's out of contract. Is there any update on that front?

GM: "We're well ahead of trying to speak to people. I spoke to him months ago and we offered him a contract then. He wants to keep the focus on promotion which is great. We will try our best to keep him. We'd love to keep him here but really it's not down to us.

"It's really down to him and his representatives. We've offered him a contract, he's rejected that. We'll go back with another offer and reward him for the performances he's done for the club. He'd love to play in League One but I've no doubt there'll be people looking at him. But this injury will keep him out for around 12 to 14 weeks which probably takes us to pre-season. We're hopeful we can get him tied down. We do have some good news, with one other player signing a new contract last week which I think will be announced early next week so we are moving in the right direction in terms of contract talks."

Q: Presumably Joseph himself is gutted at the injury?

GM: "He's gutted but he's really positive, which is pleasing. He'll be back in the building hopefully next week once he settles down from the operation.

"I spoke to him yesterday to try and pick him up a little bit, which I didn't really need to because he's a positive lad. But deep down he'll be disappointed but we're there to help him and support him. He did it in the Bromley game. We thought he'd be ok for the next game but every time he got to the last bit of rehab he felt something. I'm pleased he's getting it sorted. He went to see a real good specialist in London I believe so he's had the op and hopefully he recovers properly from it."

Q: How significant is this win in terms of the context of the season?

GM: "The focus hasn't shifted since the Crewe play-off game. Our eyes are firmly on the league title. That's not changed. I'm not shying away from that or worried what people think or they go 'why are you saying that?'

"That's why we're here. We're trying to win the title. It'll be difficult but we'll take it game by game. We've got a tough game Tuesday against the leaders Walsall but we'll prepare properly for that."

Q: It's set up beautifully now isn't it against Walsall?

GM: "We've gone through a few blips this season where we've not won for two or three games. It's not easy this division. You saw today Bradford going to Accrington and everyone thought 'yeah they'll win there' but it's so difficult and you have to be ready and focused every game.

"People can see the importance of every game now. And that's not just because the next game is Walsall. The crowd today were brilliant. The new speaker system is excellent and the atmosphere seemed to be generating more. There's real positivity around the place and we just want to carry that on."

Q: You recalled Will Flint. What was the thinking behind that?

GM: "It was just with the news on Joseph Olowu. We wanted to keep ourselves strong, not only for games but also for when we train. We've got a real good under-18s team but we're asking sometimes some of the first years to come up and train with us and that gap is big. So we wanted to keep the training group strong.

"Also, Will has had a really good loan with 40-odd games for Darlington. He's ready to play in our first team for sure. I'd have no hesitation in playing him whether it's right-back, centre-half or midfield. He can play all three. He's a good person to have for the run-in."