Carlisle Utd's Mark Ellis: "Perhaps it was fate that I stayed put"

"Exeter was the team where I first started, at their centre of excellence," says the 29-year-old. "So I'll be heading back there to see some familiar faces.

"I was 14 when I joined them, and then moved on a couple of years later. Mike Radford, who's the club secretary now, was there on the youth side, and in terms of coaching there was also Eamonn Dolan and Alex Inglethorpe, and you just have to look at how they moved on in their careers and did very well.

"It feels a long time ago. Now it's all about doing my best for Carlisle United."

If a career can sometimes feel like it is passing quickly, it is remarkable how fast it can also change course. A few weeks ago it seemed Ellis had little prospect of being involved in the final period of Carlisle's season, let alone a play-off push.

Out of favour and seemingly heading back out of the club in January, when Tranmere were among the clubs keen on his services, everything pointed to Ellis' time at Brunton Park coming to a frustrating end.

A deal for his departure was not, though, concluded - and recent weeks have seen a revival in his fortunes under Keith Curle. Ellis came back into the side in January for the FA Cup replay at Sheffield Wednesday, deputising for Clint Hill as the veteran flew to Spain to be with his ill father.

A month later, he was introduced as a half-time substitute when Carlisle were 2-0 down at Notts County in the league. A steady performance there earned Ellis a start against Chesterfield four days later and, with Curle opting for maximum experience in his back four, he has been a fixture since then.

The new arrangement - Ellis and Hill in the middle, Gary Liddle moving across to right-back and Tom Parkes holding onto the left-back slot even as Danny Grainger is back from injury - has conceded once in four games. On top of that, Ellis headed his first Carlisle goal in two years to wrap up consecutive win number four, against Grimsby last weekend. "It's been a while," the defender smiles. "It's the first one I've scored at Brunton Park too.

"It was a great delivery and it was just a case of reading the flight of the ball. Dev [Jamie Devitt] has got that in his locker. He's taken over [on set-pieces] with Danny not being in the team, and it was a terrific ball, pinpoint on my head."

Ellis looked a picture of joy as he ran off in celebration, pursued by team-mates. He laughs when asked how he would have reacted had someone told him this would happen, during his recent period on the fringes.

"I'd have snapped their hand off," he says. "I'm glad to be back in and playing a part for the team."

Ellis, who started the campaign with a run of games, spent time on loan in the National League with Leyton Orient earlier this season after Curle brought in Hill. He admits his time at the club looked numbered again as that spell ended and the weeks back in Cumbria went by.

"There was plenty of talking, and I think it was close," he says of a possible January exit. "Things just didn't materialise how everyone wanted. Perhaps it was fate that I was here to stay put."

Ellis has brought his experience to bear on his time out of favour. "I've been there numerous times over the years, when you're not part of it, but the manager's always been into my ear - 'make sure you're ready, make sure you're ready'," he says. "I've always said to him that I'll be ready, and I'll take the opportunity when it comes again."

"I've had good chats with the gaffer. He tells me what he wants, what he wants from me when I play, and I'll always go and try and do that to the best of my ability."

Ellis - also named in the EFL's team of the week - does not seem one for big statements, or moaning about his luck. However deep his frustration ran before this revival, he prefers to talk about the present, and the immediate future, given that United have resurrected a season that seemed to be drifting inevitably to mid-table.

The Grimsby win followed a major community effort to shovel the snowy aftermath of the Beast from the East from Brunton Park. Ellis says every player appreciated what the public, and the club's staff, did.

"It was brilliant that the groundstaff and the fans managed to get the game on," he says. "The players are very grateful for what they did. It was made better by a good result."

Was the uncertain build-up, as adverse weather overwhelmed the country, a difficulty? Not particularly, Ellis suggests. "We heard on Wednesday-Thursday that the pitch was in good condition, and it was just a case of sorting the surrounding areas and the stands out, and then clearing the snow off the pitch.

"It was always in our head that the game was on, and of course we wanted to play, especially with the run we're going on at the moment."

None of their four straight victories - Chesterfield, Barnet, Yeovil, Grimsby - have seen classic football exhibitions. But if ever there was a useful time to win ugly, it is now, when points seem to come with extra weight.

"We're used to getting the ball down and playing a bit of football, but with the conditions the pitches are in at the moment it's difficult to do that," Ellis says. "You see a lot of teams at the moment just trying to get teams on the back foot.

"We got a perfect start [on Saturday], with some great work down the sides and a good finish by Hallam [Hope. In the second half Grimsby put us on the back foot a little bit but we managed to defend the box well, and it was crucial we got the second goal when we did.

"I should have scored one a couple of game ago, at Barnet, so it was nice to get one this time."

United, three points shy of the top seven having played more games than most others, still have work to do, but the fact they are in the race at all reflects their improvement. "If you look back to a couple of seasons ago, we were up there and it was a case of us winning the games we had to catch up on [after the floods], and we actually struggled," Ellis says.

"Hopefully it will be in the back of other teams' heads now, and they're thinking it would be nice to have the points rather than games to catch up on."

United's in-form defensive line of four centre-halves is not short of experience. The 39-year-old Hill, Ellis says, "keeps me on my toes", while that unit can expect an examination at St James' Park, where Paul Tisdale's team have been in the shake-up all season.

"You know what you're gonna get from Exeter," Ellis says. "They're not a bad team at all, but we'll go there full of confidence.

"The lads are flying at the moment. Banter around the changing room is brilliant. You've got some very good characters in there. We'll just keep doing what we're doing and see where it takes us."