August is approaching and with it, for Jabo Ibehre, the chance to relive the most remarkable spell of his career. It is coming up to a year since the striker was scoring goal after goal for his new Carlisle United team and achieving perhaps the fastest cult status of any Blues player.

His stunning period of 10 goals in his first 10 appearances may never be repeated. It included a hat-trick against Cambridge on his home league debut, and an almost single-handed sustaining of United's form until the rest of the team started joining in.

It was the earliest highlight of a season that brought overall progress for the team, and 17 goals for Ibehre by the end. That tally was his best ever in a campaign, but also reflected a slowing-down of his productivity at the turn of 2016.

Yet this summer finds the "Islington Assassin" - the nickname earned by those exploits last term - in breezy spirits. There are new faces at Brunton Park, and new challenges to secure a place in Keith Curle's team, but the big striker is not shying from the memory of what he did last year.

Nor is he dismissing the incredible possibility that he could do it all again. "I can take everything I did, know it's been done, and know there's a formula for doing it," he says. "I know how I prepared, I know what I was doing.

"I learned a lot about myself in that time. Once you experience things in life, it's in you. It's in your DNA. I don't see why it can't happen again. I don't see why it can't happen for the full season, either, as long as you maintain your discipline, do the right things.

"It's a target to go for. It was a phenomenal start, but you see these top, top players score 40 goals a season, and then they go and do it again. Why can't you try? You want to try and get better every year, you want to better yourself all the time, so that's what I'm going to try and aim to do.

"If that means scoring 20 goals by September, let's do it! If I can get into things early, get in the frame of mind to do that, who knows?"

If Ibehre sounds in good form it may be because he has just returned from an extremely welcome summer at home. Midway through his first season in Cumbria the Londoner learned that his baby daughter had contracted bacterial meningitis.

An extremely worrying and draining period followed - but thankfully one-year-old Finley is now in good health. It is understandable that Ibehre says the episode took some of the zip out of his football from January onwards, and it made his close-season all the more important.

"Summer was amazing, so, so good," he says. "I think I needed it. Family time. Spending that time back home has helped me come back with a smile on my face. I'm feeling happy and good about everything. Ready to knuckle down for the big start."

After the first period of pre-season training, four friendlies followed. Ibehre scored in one of them, against Kendal Town, and next comes a further group of three, starting with Saturday's trip to Barrow.

Ibehre's physicality may be tested by a muscular National League side being put together by manager Paul Cox and Barrow's ambitious, USA-based owner Paul Casson. The striker's contest with the former United defender Danny Livesey may also intrigue.

Yet it is all, still, mainly preparation for the real business at Portsmouth two weeks later, by which time Curle's new signings will hopefully join the existing men, like Ibehre, in a positive blend.

"It's been good, good fun," says the former Leyton Orient man. "It's always nice to come back and meet new people, get to know different characters. We're also now on the back of a good trip in Manchester [Mottram Hall in Cheshire], good team bonding, and Cassius Camps was a story in itself. We've come back and it's been really nice. Hard work, but good.

"A lot of people have left from the previous season. Some of us are the oldies, who've only been here a year or so. But so far so good - we're all getting up to speed. In the first week back you're always a bit rusty, but you can see the fitness coming now, the patterns of play coming, and we'll be absolutely raring to go."

Ibehre was pleased to hit the net in one of his first summer outings but does not set huge store by pre-season goals. "I think you just want to be where you need to be.," he says. "It's always good if you get bonuses along the way in pre-season, if you score, but if you're running around feeling really good in yourself, that's the main thing.

"I always like scoring a goal, you get the smile on your face. But I want to get to the point where I know I'm Jabo, I feel the juice, and we're getting there, which is good."

Ibehre says he and his team-mates "appreciated tremendously" Curle's offer of a four-day breather before stepping up training this week. United did return for pre-season earlier than many teams, and the theory is that a period of down-time will have allowed any minor strains, fatigue and niggles to ease quickly.

Now the pace is increasing, for Curle has signed several players who openly stated they had come to Carlisle for one principal reason. "We've got promotion talk getting thrown around like nothing now," Ibehre says.

"But with the quality of players brought in, that's fair. The likes of [Mike] Jones coming down from League One - he obviously means business, to come down and try to carry us forward.

"We weren't far off last season, just missing out for different circumstances. Up to Christmas we were doing well, after Christmas we maybe lost our way a little bit. Maybe the mentality of some of the new guys - people like Nicky Adams, who's been promoted twice in a row - they might know how to steady the ship a bit more, a few more experienced heads, leaders.

"I think it's only gonna help us and set us in the right direction. If we put our best foot forward with this squad, there's nothing to fear. We've got as good a chance as any. A good start is vital and if we do that it will be very interesting."

As a centre-forward, Ibehre's thoughts are also sparked by the arrival of renowned creators Adams and Jamie Devitt, who led the assists charts at Northampton and Morecambe respectively last season.

Expectation is going to be loaded on United's finishers in 2016/17, for the service will surely be there. "Oh, man alive, I can't wait to get on that sort of delivery," Ibehre says. "They've got eyes for a pass, I've just got to make sure I'm in the right area to finish it off."

"The quality in training is there to see - everyone can handle the ball, everyone's on it, everyone's sharp."

As they will need to be on August 6, when Carlisle face arguably the toughest start of any League Two club - an opener against title favourites Portsmouth at Fratton Park.

"There's no bigger game to start the season than against a favoured side in the league," Ibehre says. "But we'll be raring to go. The manager will have a hard task but a good task of picking the team.

"We all want the same outcome - to do well in this league and hopefully get promoted. In myself, I'll just be trying to be at my best, where I need to be."