If defeat has to define you, if relegation has to sour everything for the rest of time, there would be no point even starting a new season.

Instead, why not imagine that struggle and difficulty can be the breeding ground for recovery, renewal and success?

As Carlisle United begin a new campaign today, the latter is the best way to think – that the Blues, in 2024/25, can move away from the problems of their previous campaign and take us on a brighter journey again.

Nothing is a given as they return to League Two, where things get under way at Gillingham this afternoon. United’s initial challenge is to show they can be competitive again after so long in 2023/24 appearing the opposite.

They must establish a strong base first, build a more powerful mentality, and then give us some entertainment – and victories.

The Blues, as they begin this attempted turnaround, continue to be blessed with outstanding support. More than 500 fans will be heading to Kent this afternoon for the longest trek of the entire league season.

The remaining 45 fixtures will, we are sure, see United’s followers loyal and steadfast. Last season saw remarkable faith in numbers in spite of their third-tier shortcomings.

The idea of a better future under the Piatak ownership informs increased season ticket sales this time around. The thought that Carlisle could be moving towards more modern times is something into which people want to buy.

This has been a summer of major change in various aspects of the club. Brunton Park has undergone a multi-million pound renovation, bringing some of its stands and many of its ageing or hollow facilities into the present day.

There are plans for a new training ground in the heart of Carlisle. There is a sense of a club finally with the wherewithal to fulfil some of its locked-away potential.

More changes are down the line. In terms of the squad, there have been notable alterations, led by the return of Charlie Wyke as attacking spearhead, captain and statement of renewed intent.

Wyke and the other new/old faces are challenged to remove last season’s defeatism, and make Carlisle United a side that does not lose 30 of its 46 league games, but one that has potency again, a way of playing that invigorates, and also one that can add a further enriching chapter to Paul Simpson’s epic story at his home-city club.

League Two is traditionally unpredictable, and United do not attack this new term without their challenges; pre-season injuries have left them uncomfortably thin in one or two departments, whilst reversing last season’s negative momentum is not a task to be underestimated.

Carlisle should take nothing for granted, but nor should they walk through League Two with fears. They should go about it with new energy, new hope, the confidence that has come with those new faces, the force of their support and the idea that, if they’ve bounced back from the drop before (1963/64, 1996/97), why can’t they do it again?

On day one, at this moment of fresh start, they deserve the backing and belief that they can. Onwards, then, to Gillingham – and Up The Blues.