As inevitable as night following day was the fact Carlisle United's community player of the season award would end up in Danny Grainger's hands for another year.

The Blues squad as a whole have done their bit in 2016/17. But no player has put himself forward more than the Cumbrian who takes a deep-rooted pride in representing his local club.

The meaning of a community club shone through as brightly and as strongly as ever when Brunton Park hosted Tony Hopper's special charity game last Sunday.

Flocking back were players whose connections to the place remain unbroken, plus a reassuring number of supporters who appreciated exactly what it meant.

Grainger was there too, with his family, watching many of the former favourites he had looked up to in his younger days. It was a reminder of the baton he now holds as an ambassador for the United badge and all that it should mean.

On his award, Grainger said: "From being around here, I know what it meant to myself when I saw the first-team lads coming to the sessions when I was younger.

"Richie Prokas, Gav Skelton, people like that. They were normally the two I saw the most, as they were from my area. It's funny - I've grown up now, and me and Gavin are best pals. I still speak to Richie every now and again too.

"It was big for me, when I was younger, to see those Carlisle lads. I know how the kids feel at times when you turn up to see them. So I can never say no, unless I'm drastically unavailable. I really do enjoy going to all the events, and doing a bit of work in the community.

"I also know how much the work the likes of Halpy [John Halpin] and the community sports trust guys put in. It is fantastic work, and if we can give them that little bit of help with appearances, it makes their lives that bit easier."

Nostalgia swept United's ground last weekend as many of those former players pulled blue shirts back on and rolled back years in support of Hopper and his motor neurone disease fight.

Many were local heroes, who had risen from a golden period of Cumbrian talent in the 1990s. As a boy in United's school of excellence, and then later returning a professional, they were Grainger's heroes too.

"When you're walking down the street, and see these fellas, you can relate to them," he said. "Richie Prokas was from Penrith, I'd see him walking through town when I was with my parents, and it does capture your imagination, that feeling of, 'Oh, I'd love that to be me'.

"The fact these lads are just from down the road, and then you get to see them on the pitch - that's what it's all about."

Grainger rejects the idea that he alone should be recognised for his community efforts. All Carlisle's players, he stresses, are more than willing to go into schools and clubs, muck in with the children and share a little of the magic that can last a long time.

The power of a caring hand from football people can be more profound than some realise. The story of Bradley Lowery, the six-year-old boy whose heartbreaking cancer battle has attracted the love and support of so many, particularly Sunderland and Jermain Defoe, has demonstrated the symbolic power of the game as well as the human qualities of those concerned.

Such actions remove football people from the bubble in which some feel they prefer to exist. Community work does not attract all the headlines it should yet Carlisle, Cumbria's only professional club, must never disregard this aspect of their work.

Grainger never does, and when asked for any particularly memorable appearances over the last year the man from Eamont Bridge quickly referred to the day he and manager Keith Curle visited teenager Michael Johnstone in February.

"He'd lost his leg from the knee down, in an accident, and it reminds you how lucky you are, and how quickly life can change," Grainger said.

"You also see what JT [former Carlisle player Joe Thompson, who is fighting cancer for the second time] is going through, and you realise that everything can change in a heartbeat. You have to appreciate what you have at times.

"Everything we do in the community has a little special memory for you, but ones like that really pull on the heartstrings and mean that little bit extra."

There are other times when a simple dose of goodwill goes a long way. Grainger helped United promote their season-ticket offers recently by surprising a young family in Carlisle.

"I went through the door and into the back garden to have a kickabout with the young lad and his sister," he said. "His face just lit up. It's little things like that that make it worthwhile for you.

"It's what, half an hour or an hour out of our lives that could put a smile on a kid's face that could last a lifetime?"

This has always been how Grainger has approached this often unseen work at United. He was also, memorably, a pro-active leader of the squad when Carlisle and Cumbria were struggling under the devastating flood waters of Storm Desmond. A contract extension means he will freely contribute more of the same in 2017/18.

"I've said from day one, since I've signed, that it's a club that's always been close to my heart," he added. "So I want to do as much as I can to help it move forward, whether that's an appearance here and there, or going into a 50-50 on the pitch.

"I try and make sure we as a set of players - not just me - all buy into what the whole club wants to do.

"It's people like Halpy and his team who help push the club forward. Halpy was actually the first guy that recommended me to Carlisle United before I went to the centre of excellence. It was at one of the community events in Penrith, and he recommended me and one of my pals.

"I've always been grateful for what Halpy has done for me and I'll never forget how much work he puts in, and all his team as well."