Carlisle United defender Jon Mellish is looking ahead to the new season following the vote by League Two football clubs to end the 2019/2020 season.

In an interview on the Carlisle United website, Jon Mellish revealed that the suspension of play due to the coronavirus outbreak was a frustrating time for players.

He said: "Being honest, that was quite hard for us because we just wanted to know what it was that was going on.

United had nine games left to play of the 2019/2020 season when Covid-19 put the brakes on League Two football.

Mellish said: "All you want to do is get on with it or put your focus on keeping things ticking over for next season."

Mellish of South Shields joined United in July 2019, in his first season at the side he moved from central defence to central midfield, triggering a contract extension, guaranteeing him a place in the squad until the end of next season.

It was brought on by Mellish's hat-trick against Kendal in a February reserve game.

Following conversations with head coach Chris Beech and a successful run-out in the position at a Crawley away game, Blues fans could see Mellish in central midfield more often.

"The gaffer spoke to me after the game and he's had a couple of chats with me through the lockdown as well, and it’s a role we both see me developing and working on as we go forward."

He has used his time in lockdown wisely, staying fit in anticipation for the 2020/2021 season.

"There's not much you can do in a situation like this other than stick to your training programme, so it's been good that the club has given us that. Mellish was staying conditioned in case play could resume. When you think about it we weren't sure if we were coming back to finish last season off or not for quite a while, so we had to be as ready as we could be just in case we got the call."

Strength and conditioning coach David Waldie has been putting First Team players through their paces, even during the coronavirus lockdown.

Mellish said: "The good thing from it was that I was feeling good so I definitely would have been fit enough had we been told to play the remaining games. Dave had us doing different things every day from Monday to Friday each week so the fitness levels would have been there. It's been good doing my bike rides and runs along the beach at South Shields, particularly with all the sun we've had, so it hasn't been too bad."

United are looking ahead to future games under coach Beech: "Now that last season has ended officially for us it's all about looking forward to the next one it's been a long time away now and all I want to be doing is training with the lads and getting ready for games again."