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" It's really good to be back to be honest, it's been a bit of a long summer for myself with regards to my future. Mentally it has been a bit tough, but I've stayed strong and I have got a lot of good people around me and they have kept me stable. I had quite a few options, I spoke to a few people but in my heart of hearts I always wanted to come back to Carlisle.
" This is the best move for me so when it came about it was a no-brainer, I was more than happy to sign and I just can't wait to get going again really. I really enjoyed myself when I first came here, I was quite pleased with how I did when I first came. There was talk of me maybe staying after my loan but it didn't really materialise, but we've stayed in touch.
" It's been quite a long summer but I'm just happy that everything has been sorted now. I'm looking forward to playing for the manager (John Ward) and the fans and the football club and being with the lads. Obviously I know the lads, I'm looking forward to playing with them again and hopefully it can be a successful season.
" It's been well documented about my thing at Bristol City and that I wasn't playing. It has been a long time coming, obviously as a professional you want to be settled and sorted as early as possible, sometimes it is not possible in football though.
" It has been a long process but I'm really happy that the right club has come along. For me Carlisle United is the best club for me that I want to play my football at. I want to progress and I feel like I can do that here, so I'm really happy that I am settled now and I just want to crack on with the football. "
" I didn't actually talk to Hibs, it was just a lot of talk that they were floating about interested in myself. Football is like that though, there are rumour mills everywhere you go, but there was a little bit of interest from Scotland. I went to Doncaster though, it is a fantastic club, I can only say good things about the football club.
" I went there and they signed the lad Matthew Mills who was there on loan last year. It put me in the position where they didn't really need another centre-half because they had paid a lot of money for Millsy. I enjoyed myself there though, I acquitted myself well there but it is not meant to be sometimes in football. It wasn't meant to be but in my heart of hearts there was only one club for me in the summer and that was Carlisle.
" I kept in touch with a few of the lads over the summer, I made some really good friends here. I was urging the boys on, trying to do them all kinds of favours against Doncaster for Cheltenham when I was there. It wasn't meant to be but the club can be very proud of what they achieved last season. They came that close to promotion and who is to say this isn't going to be our year.
" The lads have obviously got over the heartbreak of the play-offs, they have knuckled down and the gaffer has got them sorted, along with all the coaching staff. They look bright, they look sharp and long may it continue. It's going to be tough for me to get in the side but now I am all settled I can concentrate on my football. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, I can try to force my way into the squad and even the team.
" The start is great, especially after the disappointment, there is nothing better than having a great start. I think that the first ten games is important, if you can accumulate a lot of points in the first ten games then I think that you are always going to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. "
" The boys have done fantastic, I spoke to a couple of the lads after a couple of games and they are feeling good and it has shown in their football. So the gaffer has done a good job and hopefully they can keep doing it and we'll have another great season, and I'm looking to being a part of that. So I just want to crack on and hopefully try to force my way into the team as soon as possible.
" To be honest I had been talking to Carlisle over the summer. There were a few little things that needed to be sorted, it looked like it was off, and then it was back on. Football is just a funny game, you just never know whether you are coming or going sometimes. I just had to keep myself mentally right, fitness-wise I feel good and I feel probably fitter than I did last season.
" I worked quite hard over the summer, just looking forward to the sharpness side of the football, there is only so much running you can do yourself. I am just excited about getting the balls back, I'm looking forward to it and I found out maybe four or five days ago that it was all going through. I would have run up here if I could have to sign a contract, but I've come up now and it's all done and I couldn't be happier.
" Being in the Republic of Ireland squad was a fantastic experience, to play for your country is a fantastic honour, and to captain my country as well. Words can't really tell you how it felt when I led the team out that time. I have got ambitions myself as a player and playing for Ireland is definitely one of them.
" Keiren (Westwood), I know that he has left the club but his form here got him into the Ireland squad so it doesn't mean to say that because I am playing for Carlisle that I can't force my way into maybe the senior squad. It's going to be tough because there are some fantastic players. "
" I'm not concentrating on that at the moment though, I am concentrating on trying to force my way into the team, it is going to be very tough because there are some fantastic players here. Once I get in the team and play as well as I can play though then who knows.
" Murph (Peter Murphy) has done fantastic, I came in and he was nothing but supportive of me when I came. It's always good to have friendly rivalry, I know that if I am not doing the best on the pitch then someone is going to take my place, and I think that is how it should be. Hopefully I am going to add more competition for the club and I feel like I am definitely bringing something to the squad and for the football club.
" I know that if I am doing as well as I can and I am still not in the team then that means that the people who are playing must be playing well. As long as that is happening and the club are doing well then that is what we are, we are a squad together and it is a long season. I'm just looking forward to pulling on that shirt and I can't wait to kick a ball again for this football club.
" I couldn't have come into two nicer away trips could I really. Here is always quite a long trip but I think that when you are winning games and you are confident then the games can't come quick enough. So whether they be two miles up the road or 200 miles down the road, the boys are excited for the games and they can't wait for them to keep coming.
" The QPR game will be a fantastic experience, they are going to be fighting for promotion from the Championship so it will be a good test for us as players and how far we have come. So we have got nothing to lose in that game, you go out and play your football and see what happens, and in the Leyton Orient game we want three points. "
" I think that the travelling helps the players gel together, having those long trips can only make you closer as a squad. I've said it before, I think that a big part of winning promotion is having such a tight-knit squad, good banter and everyone knowing each other and wanting to play for each other.
" If you have got a great squad where everyone wants to play for each other and will do their shift of work then it is great, and it seems like that is exactly what we have got here at Carlisle. The lads have been fantastic and long may it continue really, as long as you keep that spirit going then who knows where the club could go and where this squad of players could go.
" When I was here the fans were brilliant for me and I'd like to think that I rewarded them with the performances that I put in for this football club. I just can't wait to pull on that shirt for myself and for the fans and for the whole football club. I want to show the fans again what I can do for this club.
" The fans are fantastic though, being the club where it is, to travel all that way to support the boys is a remarkable achievement and the hats go off to them. It means a lot to the boys, I think that is what shows as well.
" When we play we are not only playing for the club and for ourselves and the points, but we are doing it mostly for the fans. They pay a lot of good money and have worked their socks off to come and follow us everywhere. So that is always in the back of our minds to want to do a good performance for them. "