Former Carlisle United keeper Kelham O'Hanlon has said John Ward's Blues deserve to be a Championship side.

O'Hanlon, who played for Carlisle for two years, still has high hopes after their narrow miss in the play-offs.

The 46-year-old said: "Carlisle have done exceptionally well and I'm pleased for the people involved.

"I always thought Carlisle were a club that could be a Championship club and deservedly so. I'm sure they'll get there sooner rather than later."

Saltburn-born O'Hanlon, who began his playing career at Middlesbrough, went on to have stints at Rotherham, Preston and Dundee United. But he will always have fond memories of his two-year stint at Brunton Park.

"I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Carlisle," he said. "To be fair to Michael Knighton, he had a vision that Carlisle could be put on the map. And I think Paul Simpson, John Ward and the guys that have taken it on from there have certainly done that."

O'Hanlon, who now coaches at Barnsley, knows all too well about the concept of being so near and yet so far after the way the Tykes beat Liverpool and Chelsea last season, but then failed to make it all the way to the FA Cup final.

"The top clubs are so far away from Barnsley or Carlisle, it's just mind-blowing," said O'Hanlon, who turned down the chance to follow his old Preston boss David Moyes to Everton six summers ago.

"To play against and beat Liverpool at Liverpool was quite a surreal thing at the time, but I didn't think it was lucky. I thought we actually deserved it."

The star of that day at Anfield was one of O'Hanlon's charges, the then on-loan Barnsley keeper Luke Steele, who has since signed a 'permanent' deal at Oakwell.