United’s latest signing, Chris Conn-Clarke, could not hide his excitement as he spoke for the first time after putting pen to paper on his deal until January with options at Brunton Park.
Speaking to CUTV, he said: “Buzzing. It took a while to get done, but I'm finally here, and I just can't wait to get playing now.
It's went on for a while, but he (Marc Tierney) rung me this morning and says pack your bags, you're coming up, and I said why is it done?
“He said yeah, it's basically done, so when I got the call, I was buzzing and literally just packed the bag and got straight up first train and stepped off the train, and the air was a bit fresher up here, so I'm buzzing to be here.”
The Northern Irishman has already had a first look at his new surroundings and cannot wait to see Brunton Park in full voice.
“The area looks like a very vibrant little place. I can't wait to see it on a match day when there are thousands of fans coming in, but the stadium looks lovely.
“I had a little glance at the pitch as well, which looks very nice, so I'm ready to go.”
Conn-Clarke began his career with Linfield and Glentoran at youth level before switching to Burnley when he was offered a scholarship.
On his time with the Clarets, he said: “I loved it, to be honest.
“Growing up in Belfast, it was tough, so to get away from that and come and live my dream basically, and moving to England was it was really good, and I loved every minute at Burnley.
“Learned a lot of stuff and then ended up making the move to Fleetwood, but yeah, I adapted very well to that.
He continued: “There was a bit of shock not seeing your family and living in a digs in a stranger's house, but they were perfect for me. They had a good family around me, and I adapted well, and that was it.
“You have to run hard in a football match to tell you that because Sean Dyche was the manager at the time, so the philosophy was just run, run, run, so that was it.”
After Burnley came a move to Fleetwood and later to Altrincham - where the 23-year-old truly made his mark.
“It was an enjoyable season, it didn't finish the way I wanted it to, and I'm glad I've come to Carlisle in the same league because I feel like I have a bit of unfinished business.
“I wanted to get Altrincham out of the league, and hopefully I can do it here at Carlisle.”
Speaking on his time with the Robins, he continued: “Just everything really.
“The environment I was in, I can't say a bad word about Altrincham, it was a good club to be at, so the environment the players I had around me, me and Regan were together, and we just clicked very well, so it was a good season.”
A subsequent move to Peterborough followed, but Conn-Clarke admits things did not go quite as planned.
“Not the way I wanted it. It obviously didn't go as planned, but it is what it is.
“It's in the past now, and I'm glad I've got a platform to play on here, and hopefully I can perform.”
On his style of play, he said: “Just a lot of energy, excitement, hopefully, and just a breath of fresh air.
“I feel like I play with like I'm playing in the playground when I was a kid. I've never changed, so I'm excited.
“I can play anywhere in the front positions, I can play as a false nine. I've done that for Altrincham a few times, and just anywhere on the pitch will do me.
“I can adapt to whatever scenario, but I do prefer having a lot more freedom so I can go and venture and get the ball and do what I want to do on the ball.”
The move to Cumbria also sees him reunited with a familiar face, Regan Linney, a former teammate who played a key role in helping the deal happen.
“I have to give it to him like he's he's pushed as has Mark Tierney and my agent, as it says I've been calling him agent Regan, so now he's done his bit and he's a wonderful lad and he's a wonderful player, so can't wait to link up with him again.
And on discussions with Marc Tieney, he said: “They've been interesting. I can't say too much, but Marc worked very hard to get the deal done, and I appreciate him for doing that.
He was clear why Carlisle was always his first choice: “Biggest club, isn't it? The biggest club in the league.
“Felt like they have the best squad and obviously Regan as well, that played a part in it, but I feel like Carlisle was the best squad in the league, and I wanted to come to a team with big ambition, and speaking to Marc Tierney, the club does have that.”
“It worked both ways. As soon as Carlisle were interested, I was doing the most to try and get it done for me as well, but as soon as they were interested it was it was a no-brainer really.
“I'm buzzing like I can't wait. I've missed the first few months of the season. I'm obviously not playing at Peterborough, so I can't wait to just get playing and get going again.”
When asked if he had had any conversations with Mark Hughes, he said: “No, I haven't spoken to the gaffer yet, but I think speaking to the lads, he's a very good manager and I can't wait to play under him.
Behind the reason for picking the number 38, he said: “So if you add all the dates of births of my two kids, it'll equal 38, so just pick 38.”
United take on Boston United in the FA Cup at Brunton Park on Saturday: “I can't wait, hopefully there's a good few fans and Regan says they're very loud and passionate, so can't wait to hear them.”
And finally, on his ambitions for the season: “Win the league, I just want to win the league.
“I feel like a team like Carlisle with the squad we have, I don't think playoffs are what we should be aiming for, it should be just winning the league and nothing else.”
