Macaulay Gillesphey on his return from injury
Defender Macaulay Gillesphey returned to the starting line up following a six-game absence through injury on Monday afternoon and he admitted that he was feeling more than up for the challenge ahead as we caught up with him before the Thursday afternoon training session.“I’ve been out for about six or seven weeks now so I’m very happy to be back,” he said. “It’s obviously been frustrating not being able to get involved, but it’s all part of it. You’re going to pick up injuries through your career and you just have to get on with it.
“With Newcastle United being my parent club they played a massive part in helping me with the rehab. If I needed treatment or any help they were always there, so that was good. The medical staff over here have kept pushing me and they’ve kept me as fit as possible, so I was buzzing to get the nod to say I could get going again.
“Overall I’ve had a lot of game time this season and I’ve had more time at centre half, which is what I was looking for. It’s been really good and I think I’m always developing, growing stronger and learning more about the game. That’s why I was itching to get back as soon as I could.”
The versatile defender played just over 85 minutes of the game against Stevenage on Monday and he admitted that the intensity levels had taken a little bit of getting used to having had that injury lay-off.
“I’ve been doing boxing sessions, bike sessions and all sorts to try to stay up with my fitness work but none of it is anything like being out there and playing in a game,” he admitted. “I was absolutely knackered by the time I came off the pitch on Monday.
“I felt completely gone but it was good to get some serious game time under my belt. At the start of the game I actually felt quite fresh, both physically and mentally. I was just ready to go, to be honest.
“We’re into the final push now and I just want to do my bit. We need to get back into the play-off places and hopefully get the club promoted. We’ve struggled for results recently, there’s no hiding from that, but the lads have kept their heads together and they certainly haven’t given up on anything.
“It’s still there for us to achieve but we know we have to be picking up points and winning games. We’re more than capable of doing that so we’ll see what we can do.”
Next up for the Cumbrians is the trip to Crawley and another long, tough away fixture.
“We’re used to these long trips now and it just is what it is,” he said. “We get on with it and we look forward to it. There are no easy games in this division and we’ve seen a number of times that anything can happen.
“The lads know it’s one we’re more than capable of winning if we do it properly. We’ve had a difficult run but it hasn’t changed, we all want the club to be playing League One football next season. Hopefully we can do it.”
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