GREENOCK-BORN Jack Iredale is determined to make an impact for new club Carlisle United — but he says Morton will always hold a special place in his heart.

The left-back made his first appearance for Steven Pressley’s side on Saturday, coming on in the last 10 minutes of the Blues’ 2-1 win over Crawley at Brunton Park.

After the League Two clash, he wasted no time in finding out how Morton fared in their Championship opener against Ayr United.

Iredale says he’ll always be a Ton fan and believes his experience at Cappielow stands him in good stead for playing in the English Football League.

He told the Tele: “One thing I took from the Scottish Championship was more of a psychological edge.

“Every game was relentless, and you knew that you needed to pick up points or you’ll find yourself in difficult situations, and that will only help me going forward.

“That, along with all the physical conditioning, will help me come up with a style that helps me improve and mature.

“It was the logical next step to leave Morton and to move down south.

“I still follow all the results. Morton are my local team, as soon as we were back in the changing room on Saturday I looked to see how they got on. 

“I’ll always have a soft spot for the Ton. I’ve still got friends who play with there.

“I’ll keep an eye on them a lot over the course of the year.”

Iredale, who joined the Blues from Morton at the end of last season, is loving life south of the border and is keen to kick on from a quadricep injury that hindered his pre-season preparations.

He said: “I’ve loved it so far, it’s something a bit different.

“This pre-season has been the toughest that I’ve ever been involved in, but I’m loving it.

“To have a full pre-season has allowed me to really show the manager what I’ve got.

“There’s a few lads who were in similar positions to me who were new to the team. 

“It’s meant we’ve got to know each other over the summer and definitely made things easier for me to kick on and make an impact.”

Iredale was thrilled to start life at Brunton Park with a win.

He added: “I would’ve liked to have started on Saturday, but a quad strain meant I’d struggled for fitness over pre-season.

“It was good to get 20 minutes even though it was at right wing. I was just happy to make my debut for Carlisle in the EFL.

“The gaffer seems set on a 4-3-3 and obviously I was playing as more of a wing back last year at Morton which has helped me a lot.

“He wants us to be very fit and to play on the front foot.

“As a full-back who loves to get forward, the system suits my attributes very well, I’ve been quite lucky.

“It’s been a good step up in terms of the size of competition.

“Things are done differently down here than they are in Scotland which has taken a bit of getting used to.

“For me it was a big step forward in doing something I want to do for a long time.

“I want to play as many games as possible and put in as many good performances that I can because then you never know what will happen, I’m just happy playing.”