by Mark Hughes believes that Carlisle United could not have had a better structure for her huge Good Friday showdown with the Port Vale executives.
The blues will compete against the league table tops tomorrow to continue their great escape.
The Brunton Park Clash, which attracts a five-digit amount through a ticket campaign of 10 pounds, promises to set an impressive test.
But Hughes believes that the recent dynamics of the Cumbrianers brought them to the best possible place to absorb Darren Moore’s high flies.
“We really had the best possible structure of the game,” said head coach Hughes.
“After two victories, after two victories, shouldn’t we be in good condition after such a long time to step against the best team in the league?
“We couldn’t really have written it better.”
Carlisle in the second floor will hope to overthrow the leaders and further reduce their survival gap.
A blues win with a defeat against Accrington Stanley in Salford City would reduce the gap with three games to three points-and a large collision with Accrington on Easter Monday.
Back-to-Back victories have been kept in life’s survival hopes from United (Image: Richard Parkes)
However, the worst-case scenario could leave United as well as below if you should lose, and both Accrington and Tranere Rovers would win nine points with three games for playing and with a significantly inferior target difference for these rivals.
The missions could hardly be higher, but Hughes puts a strain on his players that Friday is an opportunity to enjoy.
“The only thing I would tell everyone – and I was always the same as a player and as a manager – is that the season, the match day, is the best time,” he said.
“The bigger the game, the more excited I always got into play.
“Other players, other people, react differently, some find it a bit discouraging and have to overcome this initial feeling in order to be able to thrive, but in my view it is a great football game.
“You want to be important in games at this time of year. Obviously, our for the wrong reasons are considerable, but still considerable – so go out and enjoy it.”
Port Vale recently won first place in the second division after an impressive run of five victories in the last six games, while Moore’s team has scored ten goals in the last three games, and Swiss front man Lorent Tolaj scored five in three.
Hughes admits that the valians are a side that can be respected.
“You have good players and it’s all about balance and the right mix,” said the blues boss.
“Sometimes football is a bit like [when] They throw in all the ingredients, a bit like a salad, and they are not quite sure what will come out – sometimes it works and sometimes not.
Darren Moore led Port Vale to the top of the second division with four games (Image: Richard Parkes)
“It is not a precise science. Sometimes you have to get the right loans into the right loans that have an impact on them, young players who come in a different direction, but they meet a point where it just works.
“It is not easy to put together, but the big man [Moore] it did several times.
“The two strikers [Jayden Stockley and Tolaj] are very good, you have a good movement, a good link-up game and the combination works well for you.
“The strikers also work hard, so we have to make sure that we keep them calm because they are a large part of why they are doing well at the moment.”
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