Steve Cotterill confirmed he will appeal Tom Flanagan's red card when he spoke to the press
Flanagan was sent off in the 57th minute of Town's game against Accrington Stanley at the weekend after picking up two yellow cards in a matter of seconds.
Cotterill discussed this, tomorrow's opponents, and the versatile options who could fill in for Flanagan if the appeal is unsuccessful.
On Carlisle:
“It’ll be a tough game. I watched Carlisle earlier in the season at Morecambe and they were very very good. It’ll be a tough game for us without a shadow of a doubt and they’ve started the season well so it’s a game we’re looking forward to because after you lose at the weekend, you want to get back out there pretty quickly so we’re looking forward to it.
“I think Carlisle is a big club. If you look at some of the crowds they’ve had there over the years they’re a big club. Jimmy Glass scored that goal that kept them in the league all those years ago and that’s a great memory for everyone. As I’ve said so far, they’re a good team and I’m looking forward to seeing them tomorrow night. I know Paul Simpson but yeah, we’ll sort ourselves out, that’s the main bit.”
On Tom Flanagan’s red card:
“I didn’t need to see it back on the day. I think there’s been enough comedy made of it yesterday, I think it’s been in the national newspapers and on social media. I don’t understand the two yellow cards so I spent all day yesterday on the phone to the relevant people asking them to explain it because you can’t explain it. The most disappointing part of it is the way the referee spoke to Tom; if he’s going to send Tom off, he doesn’t need to say ‘see ya later’. What’s that about? I was disappointed in the referee because I’m also not sure he saw the incident because he had to speak to the linesman a lot.
“The culmination of those calls yesterday is that we may have got to the truth of all of it and we know we’re going to appeal it and rightly so. We’re going to appeal what’s happened and you can appeal two yellow cards if you think there’s been a case of mistaken identity in there and I think that’s what he’s done. Marko Marosi should’ve been booked, and Tom Flanagan should’ve been booked, but Tom Flanagan shouldn’t get two yellow cards for that. Hopefully, they’ll put it right."
On the versatility in the squad should Tom Flanagan be unavailable:
“That’s been part of our recruitment, to make sure we’ve got versatility in the squad. It’s getting more and more difficult for us to try and compete with some of the clubs that we’re competing with in this league, so we need versatile players and that’s what we’ve got.
“If Tom Flanagan isn’t available tomorrow night – which I think will be a bit of a joke – then we’ll suck it up and we’ll put someone in his place.”
