David Atkinson: "I feel like I've got some unfinished business at Carlisle Utd"

It is six months since a spell with the Blues that started promisingly ended with Atkinson being released, having made just two substitute appearances in 2016/17 and then loaned to one of non-league's most famous clubs to gain first-team football.

The move to Croft Park was made permanent when Keith Curle then offloaded Atkinson in January to make room on the wage bill for new signings. The 24-year-old does not look upon his fate bitterly but it was clearly a frustrating outcome.

"I feel like I've got some unfinished business there [at Carlisle] and I like the idea of coming back one day, and finishing off what I started," Atkinson says.

"I thought I put in some good performances and I thought I was always consistent in everything. It was frustrating towards the end, but that's just football. I never really got told why I got let go, but it was the manager's decision. He decided to strengthen in other areas."

Atkinson first joined Carlisle on loan from Middlesbrough during 2015's survival fight. After seven increasingly useful appearances, he joined permanently in the summer, playing 29 times in the following season's improvement.

He showed enough versatility to play at centre-half, right back and even central midfield, but from the summer of 2016 his life and career went in different ways. The birth of his baby son Alex required Atkinson to spend additional time away from the club during pre-season, and in terms of Curle's selection thoughts he was never able to catch up.

"It was the best thing that's ever happened, becoming a dad, so I would never say it came at a bad time," he says. "But it was a bit complicated and I just needed that bit of extra time. In pre-season, when you need those games, it set me back a little bit. And the manager had his team set up by then, so it was hard to get back into it."

United started 2016/17 in record-breaking unbeaten form. There were cameos for Atkinson against Portsmouth in the league and Port Vale in the Capital One Cup, but nothing more, even when Carlisle's defensive record came under scrutiny.

"I always thought I'd get a chance," he says. "The team was doing well, but as it went on I thought I should have had a chance at some point. But it's the manager's decision. I haven't got a problem with him and I have no regrets. It's just football, at the end of the day. It's what happens, isn't it?

"The year before I played in that many different positions, but something must have changed in the manager's mind. Towards the end of last summer's transfer window, after pre-season, I asked if I could go out on loan then, but he didn't think it was the right time. In January, though, he wanted to strengthen and use my wages elsewhere. So I used the opportunity to try and kickstart my career."

Atkinson, who had been rated highly when coming through Middlesbrough's respected academy, dropped three tiers into the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League. "It was quite a hard decision at the time - I wanted to stay in the League if I could - but once the transfer window shut there were only certain teams you could go to," he says.

"People also don't always have the transfer budget at that stage as well. I spoke to Alun [Armstrong, Blyth's manager], who I knew quite well from Middlesbrough. It was a lot for Blyth to bring me in, a lot of money for them, being part-time, but they gave me that chance."

Atkinson was a regular in a team that won promotion to the National League North. "It's what I needed," he says. "You can get lost in football if you're not playing games. A lot of people forget about you. All the work I had done the year before, it's pretty much gone when you haven't played for that long. Playing with Blyth has got my fitness back up, and my confidence as well. It's been good in that respect."

Football is now congested with out-of-contract players seeking a chance. "You've got to be playing games for people to see you," Atkinson adds. And there's loads of players dropping out of the big clubs, like Man United, at under-23 level, and people will always take a chance on them first because of the clubs they've been at.

"I was getting frustrated not playing. That's what you're in football for, isn't it - to play. I didn't know what to expect at Blyth, because I've never played part-time, but it's a good set-up and they try to do everything as professionally as possible. The manager has had a professional career, and so has Darren [Holloway, Armstrong's assistant and a former United loanee]. I think they'll definitely go higher.

"I've never been part of a promoted team before. You don't win much in football, so that was a great experience, something to add to my CV. The fans are really good, too - they follow us all over. Blyth's a bit like Carlisle, in the middle of nowhere, and there's a lot of travelling for them to do, but they do it."

How has he found the difference in standard? "The difference is probably just the consistency throughout the game. It's not as consistent as League Two; it can be more hit and miss, and it's not as quick and full-on. But there are still some big clubs and some good players. You can see by some of the players that have got moves. Even out of the league last year, quite a few have gone into League Two and League One.

"That's what I'm looking for. It puts you in the shop window. It's a key time in my career, and hopefully I can go on again."

Atkinson confirms that he wants to return to full-time football when the right opportunity comes. "I've had a few offers, and there have been situations that have nearly been over the line, but it's just a case of waiting for the right one. It's probably the biggest decision I can make now, and a big decision to take with my family as well.

"I have thought about going abroad, as well, especially the way the market is over here at the minute - getting that experience, playing at a good level, and maybe coming back after that.

"I've had a few offers that way as well, but it's not been right. I've never played abroad so I need to look carefully at how the standard is if something else comes up. Until then, I'm happy at Blyth. It's a good squad, a decent standard and I've got a good relationship with the manager and the club."

Atkinson stays in touch with some of his old Carlisle team-mates, including fellow Middlesbrough boys Jason Kennedy and Charlie Wyke, plus Danny Grainger, who could come up against Atkinson if the latter plays in his most common Blyth position of right-back today.

"It will be good seeing some of them again, and I'm looking forward to it," he says. "At the end of the day it's just another game, a friendly, but I don't want to have a bad game against my old team. I've still got a lot of good feelings about the club."