Carlisle United are to name a new bar at Brunton Park after one of the greatest captains in the club's history.

Peter McConnell, now aged 71, made 306 appearances for the Blues from 1962 to 1969, skippering them to back-to-back promotions.

A real old school no-nonsense tough guy number four, Peter's name is now being given to a third bar which will be opened beneath the Cumberland Building Society stand.

The move has been welcomed by club chairman Andrew Jenkins, who held the same post when Peter joined the Blues for £4,000 from Leeds 46 years ago.

He said: "For me, Peter McConnell is right up there with the best captains we have ever had at Carlisle. I don't think we have ever had many to match him - perhaps Bill Green and Kevin Gray. Peter was our club captain for seven years during which we enjoyed tremendous success and he has kept in touch with us here because he still loves Carlisle United."

McConnell is the latest entry on a proud list of club greats to be honoured in name at Brunton Park. Others include Chris Balderstone, Allan Ross, Hugh McIlmoyle, Ivor Broadis and Dick Young.

McConnell's bar will be open for busy games to supplement the two existing CBS bars named after Balderstone and Ross. It is currently used as a shop.

Peter said earlier today: "This is a huge honour, it really is. I loved my time at Carlisle United, everyone knows that, and this is just fantastic for me and for my family."

Born in Reddish, Stockport, Peter made 53 appearances for Leeds before being signed for Carlisle by Ivor Powell, who immediately made him captain aged 23. He played 273 league games for the Blues, putting him eighth in the all-time appearance list, scoring 28* goals during seven seasons as a regular first choice, before moving to Bradford City and then becoming a publican.

Now living in Leeds, Peter led Alan Ashman's team to promotion from Division Four in 1963-64 and the Third Division championship the following season to take them in to the second tier of English football for the first time in their history. He was also a key figure in several glorious cup campaigns, winning 1-0 at Newcastle in front of more than 40,000 fans and losing unfortunately in the quarter-finals at Preston, who went on to reach the final that year in 1964.

Carlisle United's media officer Andy Hall has written a book with Peter, called Nice One Skip, which is due out later this month. A collection of anecdotes and stories that follow Peter through his life in football, it will be available from the Blues Store at Brunton Park and on line at Amazon, as well as the usual outlets.

From his time at Elland Road he reveals just how close both he and his good friend Don Revie came to leaving - and what it was that caused them to change their minds - as well as what it was like to have a larger than life room mate called Jack Charlton. Add to that his tales of slinking away from team bonding sessions with Billy Bremner, and making his full debut against the Lion of Vienna, Sir Nat Lofthouse, and it all comes together to make a fascinating read.

At Brunton Park he explains how he finally won over tough task master Dick Young, and lifts the lid on why the team were booted out of a Reading hotel the night before a game. The antics of club jokers Will Carlin and John Evans go under the spotlight, as well as a near death experience (make that two) with the carefree Frank Large.

With a provisional price of just £11-95, this book will be available to pre-order soon.

Of course, McConnell is a name with a special place in the history of Carlisle United. Jimmy McConnell - no relaton to Peter - holds the record for the highest number of league goals in a season, netting 42 times in Division Three North in 1928-29. Jimmy is also the Blues' all-time record league goalscorer with 126** in just four years from 1928-32.

Meanwhile, work is due to start on the new Paddock bar later this month after the contract was awarded to Carlisle-based Castellum Builders. It is hoped that the work, which includes creating a new bar for fans at the Warwick Road end of the Paddock as well as a players' lounge in the west stand, will be completed by the end of the year.

Managing director John Nixon said: "We realise there is an issue with overcrowding at the only existing bar in the Paddock towards the Waterworks end. The aim is to resolve that pressure and upgrade facilities for fans on match days, while improving the club's commercial income stream."

* Official records show Peter McConnell as having scored 27 goals for Carlisle United. Peter puts that one right in his new book, when he explains in detail where goal number 28 came from.

** The subject of how many goals Jimmy McConnell scored whilst with United is under debate as we speak. Figures from the era are far from conclusive, with newspaper reports and match records in direct conflict. The club hope to have the definitive answer on this one soon.