19-year-old midfielder Luke Joyce made 16 appearances for United last season, taking his chance, when it came, to show the manager just what he can do.

The former Wigan player, and life long Bolton fan, slotted in to the centre of the line up as if he'd been there all his life, and earned himself a one year contract extension following his assured displays.

He told us today: "It's been a good season, and it's brilliant for both me and my family that it has led to a new contract with Carlisle. I think it was a reward for what I did towards the end of the season, and I'm delighted that I'll still be here for the next one. I signed it straight away, because I am enjoying it, and I hope to kick on from here now."

"I think I said last summer that what I wanted to do was break in to the first team," he said. "The period from January to May has been great for me, because I have played in plenty of games and I have been able to get involved. It gave me the chance to relax in to my game a bit, which was good."

"Obviously the manager spoke to me at the end of the season," he explained, "and he told me that he was happy with what I had done. He told me what he wanted to see from me next season, and explained that I had set the standard and that it was my chance to work towards a whole new set of aims. I'll certainly be doing my best to achieve that and to play the kind of football that will be a benefit to the team and to me."

"There were plenty of high points for me, particularly from the second half of the season," he said. "My first goal in League football, and for Carlisle, was pretty special (against Gillingham) and my first start at home to Yeovil will both take some beating. I know the result didn't go for us in that one, but it was good to get the nod to play. The Tranmere away game was a great night as well, I enjoyed that one. Not only because we won 2-0, but also because I was up against Jason McAteer. As a Bolton fan I used to watch him as a kid, so it was good to play against him."

"On the other side of things, the red card would definitely be the low point," he admitted. "I haven't seen it since, but it seemed to be harsh to me and I was gutted as I left the pitch. They seemed to be two really weak bookings, and I think they were from the only two tackles I made in the whole game. I suppose you can say that it's all experience gained, and it will stand me in good stead for next season. I do remember both Lummy and Shaun (Vipond) trying to claim the second tackle, when it became clear that the Ref was going to get his cards out, but he wasn't having it and I got sent off anyway. All that effort from the pair of them and it didn't pay off! Like I say, it's just one of those things."

"That run towards the end of the season, where we won five on the bounce, really put us in with a shout," he said. "To then lose the last three was a really disappointing way to finish off, and we ended up further away from the Play Offs than we should have been. It doesn't really tell the whole story. That's our benchmark for next season, now, and we have to look to go at least one better and make sure we're involved next time round. Mind you, I personally think that the second season is always harder than the first in a new league. We now have to try and keep ourselves up there against teams who know more about us, so we have to work that much harder. There are going to be some good teams around us, and it's going to be a really tough test again. We're up for it, though, so we'll be giving it a right good go."

"I expect it could be a lot tighter next time round," he continued. "Teams won't be expecting an easy ride from us, with the way we play, but we also won't be expecting an easy ride from them. We're going to play in some big games against clubs with big reputations, and we have to handle it the same way as we did this year. We know what we have to do, so it's a case of getting on it with it once the first fixture comes aound."

As far as his summer break goes, he told us: "I always enjoy the first couple of weeks, because it's good to relax, but it doesn't take long before you start to get very conscious of the fact that pre-season isn't actually that far away. They are always hard work and you have to make sure that you get back in good shape. That means that the last two or three weeks of the break are all about getting your fitness level back up there. I'm usually alright because I am good at long distance running, and stuff like that, but I think we all have to work at it to make sure that you are as fit as you can be for the games that lie ahead."

"I used the first few weeks off to get over to Ireland," he said. "I have plenty of relatives over there so we went to see them. Early on this morning I got back from Turkey, which was great. I went over there with my girlfriend and that was a week of complete rest. I'll get myself back in to some kind of routine in the next week or so, and make sure that I get fit again."

"My aim now has to be to start as many games as I can," he added. "Lummy and Thirls finished off the season, and Simon Hackney is back, so there is plenty of competition. Simon was doing really well before he got his injury, and I'm sure he will want to pick that up, so it's up to me to show the manager that I am the one who should be in there to start the first game. Fingers crossed I'll do that, but if I'm not involved then I'll be working as hard as I can to make sure that I give the manager plenty to think about."

"We're all at the club to do the best we can," he said, "and our aim is to do better then the eighth place finish we have just had. If we were to be involved in the Play Offs at the very least, then that would be fantastic, but it is going to be extremely tough. It's important that we don't all get carried away with how we just did, and we know that we need to get our heads down and get on with the job properly. If we do that, hopefully it will prove to be good enough for us."