Last updated at 12:40, Wednesday, 03 December 2008

Despite boasting a head of silver hair befitting a man of a certain vintage, it’sstill hard to reconcile Graham Kavanagh’s exuberant performances for Carlisle United with a man of 35.

Graham Kavanagh

The midfielder ticked off another birthday yesterday and then added some convincing words to his recent actions that suggest slowing down is for other people.

No player will be more important to Carlisle’s chances of reaching the FA Cup third round tonight than Kavanagh, who has scored three goals in his Brunton Park spell so far and who will have to be subdued if Crewe wish to extend their own interest in the competition.

Remaining firmly at the centre of football attention is precisely how the Dubliner likes it as he bounces into his 20th year in the English game.

“I came over from Ireland when I was 16, and if someone had told me I would still be playing at 35 I’d have bitten their hand off,” said Kavanagh.

“Let’s be honest, people have presumed I was that age for a while, because of the grey hair. Now I’m finally as old as they think!

“But the way I’m feeling, there are a lot of years left in me yet and a win tonight would be a nice birthday present, without doubt.”

Nothing Kavanagh has said or done in a United shirt has offered any argument to Greg Abbott’s evocative description of the Sunderland loanee as “just a street kid who loves playing football”.

To United’s midfield, he has added a level of authority and appetite which caretaker manager Abbott hopes to harness for some time yet.

His current spell runs out on December 13, by which time he hopes to have helped United to another cup victory, two more positive results in the league, and played his way towards a longer stay in Cumbria.

“I’ve really enjoyed it here,” Kavanagh said. “I feel I’m making a contribution. We are starting to turn it around and I wouldn’t like to walk away from that.

“With the momentum we are starting to gain, hopefully we can be pushing into the top half of the table in the new year and you never know where it can lead after that.

“It depends what Roy Keane and Sunderland’s ideas are. We will assess it after the Leicester game on December 13. But I’d like to think I will still be here after that.”

Kavanagh has seen enough of football’s highs and lows at Middlesbrough, Stoke, Cardiff, Wigan, Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday to be able to comment quite clearly on the troubles from which United may now be escaping under Abbott’s new regime.

“You do get into a habit of losing games, just because the confidence drains away,” he said. “And when you are struggling to get that back, it can take a while. But over the course of time it slowly returns and the lads seem more upbeat around the training ground now.

“I feel now, especially away from home, that we’re not going to concede from set-pieces, which is what I felt when I first came here. Greg has to be given great credit for the way he has rallied the troops, got everybody fighting for one cause and given us a bit more understanding of what’s expected.

“When the full backs get the ball, for example, we know where it’s going to go, whereas before it was a little bit off the cuff.

“We have shown a lot more character and fighting spirit in recent games, and at times when we’ve had our noses in front we’ve handled it better.

“The Crewe game is a big one for us because we don’t want the performance at Grays on Saturday to go to waste. We feel confident about it, but it’s important we approach it in the right way.”

Kavanagh regards Gary Madine’s late equaliser, which spared United acute embarrassment in the original Grays tie and Abbott’s first game in charge, as the turning point after the dreadful run of form which cost John Ward his job.

Three victories later and there is a detectable spring in the Cumbrians’ step, and that of their ageless midfielder, as the beleaguered Railwaymen chug into town tonight.

“If you look at the table, we are favourites, but all credit to them because they won their last cup tie to get here,” advises Kavanagh.

“But confidence-wise, we feel we are a match for anybody. If we perform to the levels of the last couple of weeks at home, we will give anybody a game.

“As for my future, I think I’ve proved I can play Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday, and when your fitness is there it gives you confidence you can do it. Age doesn’t become an issue.

“I’ve only ever had one serious knee injury in my career and I’ve recovered from that, so I should have two or three years left in me. It depends if someone will take a chance. And I’d love it if it was Carlisle.”

First published at 11:26, Wednesday, 03 December 2008
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk