Carlisle United owner Tom Piatak senior has given his first interview to the official club website after arriving for the game with Charlton Athletic.
The Piatak family watched their first game in May when the Blues took on Bradford City in the first leg of the play-off semi-final.
Thus began the takeover process that concluded this week – but he was asked if there was ever a time he feared the deal wouldn’t come to fruition?
He said: “No, to be honest with you. The Bradford away game was an eye-opening experience. It’s a beautiful facility there and we followed it up coming up here for the next week.
“Once we attended those two games we knew it was going to get done.
“We had to be patient and the former shareholders did a fantastic job vetting and making sure the club is getting handed over to, I think, responsible custodians moving forward.
“Those two matches – and that was before Wembley – if there was any doubt of getting it done, they were wiped out of our minds.
“We had to be patient and it did take longer. We wanted to get it done in the August transfer window but that wasn’t possible.
“We’re happy to get it done this week and we’re happy to have the remainder of the season to get us to that safety zone in League One.”
Getting the club up the League is priority number one and he had this to say.
He said: “That’s been communicated to the management and with Paul. We’ve had discussions and we all know that.
“I think that’s a realistic goal and we can make some changes. If the current squad steps up and plays like we’ve seen then play in some matches then I think that’s definitely attainable and should be our goal.”
The new ownership also pledge to back the manager – in the January transfer window – or sooner if required.
He went on: “We’ve talked about budget and the change in the budget and we both [manager and chairman] agreed on what that should be and what that level is.
“We’re actively now talking to him about what his plans are short-term and in the January window – because some of that needs to happen now.
“We’re excited about what we think we can do in January and have complete trust in Paul. He’s a great manager – I believe the best manager in the EFL – and we’re going to trust him.”
