Curle mum on Griffiths absence

Carlisle manager Keith Curle admitted he deliberately kept midfielder Anthony Griffiths' absence from Saturday's defeat at Oxford quiet.

Griffiths missed the 2-1 defeat, which kept the Cumbrians hovering above the Football League trapdoor, as he was on international duty with Montserrat. The 28-year-old has been a regular since joining in January and Curle did not want to give the U's an advantage of knowing he would be missing so did not mention it in build-up to the Kassam Stadium clash. "He was away on international duty with Montserrat and that was one I decided to keep under my hat," Curle said. "I dealt with it at the club and we kept it to the playing staff that he was going away. "Part of the agreement I had with him was to allow him to go on two training camps and play in two fixtures for his country. "I gave him the clearance to go away again this week but, with the injury situation and things like that, I decided not to give a heads up to the opposition that he wasn't available for us. "That's why we kept the information in my office and we asked the player himself not to mention it as well. "We're all trying to gain an advantage and the fewer players I have available the easier it is for the other team's staff to predict how I will line up. "It's not meant in any way to be disrespectful to the media, or our fans, if I keep things quiet because what I'm trying to do, with everything I do, is give us the best chance I can of getting the points on a matchday."