United’s first team squad was at Brunton Park on Monday morning for meetings with outgoing manager Keith Curle and chairman Andrew Jenkins where the following players were informed that they will receive a written offer of a contract from the club within the next seven days:
Nicky Adams, Jack Egan, Mark Ellis, Danny Grainger, Clint Hill, Jordan Holt and Luke Joyce.
The following players did not receive an offer of renewal: Morgan Bacon, Jamal Campbell-Ryce, Reggie Lambe, Shaun Miller, Tom Miller, Samir Nabi, John O’Sullivan and Cameron Salkeld.
The following players remain in contract, have signed new deals or have triggered appearance-based clauses which keep them at the club until the end of the 2018/19 campaign: Richie Bennett, Jamie Devitt, Kelvin Etuhu, Hallam Hope, Mike Jones, Jason Kennedy, Gary Liddle, Tom Parkes and Cole Stockton.
The following players have returned to their parent clubs on conclusion of their respective loan deals: Jack Bonham, James Brown, Louis Gray, Ashley Nadesan and Kris Twardek.
Manager Keith Curle: “I’d like to go on record with a thank you to all of the players who have played for me through my time with the club.
“This season, yet again, every single one of them bought into what we have tried to do at this club and the dressing room has been a pleasure to deal with."
“I met the players with the chairman this morning to give them the opportunity to express how they think their season has gone," he explained. "I also gave them my opinion on how their season has gone, which the chairman endorsed and enhanced ... and I think he was also there to make sure I didn’t tap any of the players up as well!
“Different managers do things different ways, but I like to see the players face-to-face and give them comments and opinions to help them further their career, whether that's still at this club or somewhere else.
"There was a lot of honesty, which I think is the best way to deal with players. It’s not easy to tell someone that they aren’t getting a contract offer, but I always make sure that the players who are receiving negative news go away with something to turn into a positive.
"Some players need that, some players don’t, but they’ve all been told to go away and prove me wrong. The fact that we've been through this process as a club shows the mutual respect we have and I know the players who remain here, and who choose to take up the offers made, will continue to be good assets for this club."
Having completed his final duty as United's boss, he told us: “Tomorrow morning will feel strange when I wake up and I haven’t got the football club on my mind, or a journey to Carlisle to look forward to.
"It will be the first time in close to four years when I won't have had something about Carlisle United at the forefront of my thoughts, but it is a club I will always have fond memories of. It's been a big part of my life and I can't thank everyone connected to the club enough for the way they've been with me.
"I leave you all with my very best wishes."
