Cambridge’s former Carlisle United defender Jack Iredale does not have a point to prove to the Blues, insists boss Chris Beech.

Left-back Iredale was among the players released by United this summer after a season in Cumbria.

The Australian, 24, could face his former club in tomorrow’s league opener after signing a two-year deal with Mark Bonner’s side.

He made 30 appearances for United in 2019/20, including four starts and three sub appearances after Beech’s appointment in November.

United’s head coach said: “Jack’s got no point to prove to me or Carlisle supporters.

“In my opinion, I think he served the club to the best of his abilities, as he did me and himself.

“The pandemic threw all sorts of questions and anomalies up. One was that Jack asked me could he go back to Australia when we didn’t know if the season was coming back on, because of personal circumstances, to see his family.

“These things throw all sorts of different things into equations.

“In terms of Jack – great personality, really good lad, very good at crossing on the move and has his long throw; we utilised that to the best of our abilities last season, and he helped us get away from a side that possibly looked like it could get relegated.”

In contrast to Carlisle, Cambridge have recorded two victories in cup competitions so far, with an eyecatching 1-0 Carabao Cup victory at Birmingham followed by a 2-0 victory over Fulham’s under-21s in the EFL Trophy.

Beech said: “They’re setting up in a 4-4-2, they’ve got a couple of good results under their belts, and are still a team that’s coming together under new manager, who was doing excellent when we played them last season. I think that [a 2-1 Carlisle win] was the first negative result he’d had in that period.”

Veteran Republic of Ireland star Wes Hoolahan could also face the Cumbrians, the 38-year-old having joined Cambridge this summer.

“Wes is obviously elongating his career with the technical skills he’s got, and he’s an unbelievable professional,” Beech said.

“But they’ve got other really good players too.

“We know what they’re capable of, we know what we’re capable of, and we just have to make sure we’re ready, set and, [unlike at Oldham], if someone’s trying to jump a fence, don’t help them get over it.”