It is nearly a quarter of a century since Keith Millen last enjoyed a successful day at Brunton Park.

The new Carlisle United manager struggled to remember his most recent experience of the Blues' ground when asked yesterday.

It's perhaps unsurprising that an early-season fixture in the 1997/8 season did not spring immediately to mind.

But Millen was indeed on the winning side when he last appeared at United's stadium.

It came in a Division Two fixture when Watford were the visitors.

The Hornets, managed by Graham Taylor, took on Mervyn Day's United on August 16, 1997.

And Millen, playing at centre-half for Taylor's side, helped them come out on top.

He contribued to a clean sheet as Watford won 2-0 thanks to goals from Peter Kennedy and Richard Johnson.

In defence, Millen and his team-mates managed to keep newly-promoted United's strikeforce at bay.

He came up against Blues forwards such as Matt Jansen and Allan Smart, and is seen in the YouTube clip below competing against Scottish frontman Smart.

Millen makes few other appearances in the footage, with United unable to fight back against Taylor's side.

The defender then went on to overcome the Cumbrians again that season, helping Watford to a 2-1 win at Vicarage Road in March.

Again, he played the full game as Steve Palmer and Darren Bazeley scored to seal the points despite an Ian Stevens consolation, against a Carlisle team now under the management trio of John Halpin, David Wilkes and Michael Knighton.

It proved a memorable season for Watford and Millen, as they finished top of the table to return to the second tier - while the Cumbrians were relegated to the basement division.

Let's hope he can enjoy more success now he's on United's side...

Millen, who previously faced Carlisle with Brentford, said of his past experiences at United's ground:

"I remember thinking it was a long way and the last thing I wanted to do after that journey was get off the coach and run around for 90 minutes.

"That’s something that can work to our advantage, we need to look at starting games fast.

"We also need to make sure that our preparation when we travel is as good as it can be which I’ve already looked at.

"It’s all about trying to prepare the players to perform. The travelling is a factor but it’s the same for teams coming here and us travelling away. I don’t think it’s a big thing, as long as you prepare properly which the club already seem to be doing.

"We do want to make Brunton Park somewhere teams don’t enjoy coming."