By Jon Colman

Last updated 11:47, Saturday, 17 May 2008

CARLISLE United manager John Ward has paid tribute to the behind-the-scenes stability at Brunton Park and says the club is in safe hands whatever the future holds.

Pointing the way forward: John Ward and assistant manager Greg Abbott. ‘It’s Fred Story’s club and he has done a hell of a lot to get it to where it is now,’ says Ward

Ward, whose side were last night battling Leeds in the League One play-off semi-final second leg after Monday’s superb 2-1 first leg win at Elland Road, said that whatever the outcome of United’s promotion bid, the club was well-placed to keep progressing.

Carlisle have progressed in terms of their final league position for every season of Fred Story’s four-year tenure – and Ward says that reflects the off-the-field advances at Brunton Park.

“You see so many clubs where it isn’t stable and solid, and that ends up going right through the football club,” said Ward.

“Some clubs are in absolute disarray and even at places like Liverpool there is quite a lot of uncertainty.

“We don’t have that here and that is the great side to it. The people in the top positions are people the supporters and city trust.

“How this club has progressed on the pitch reflects on Fred Story, the chairman (Andrew Jenkins) and the board of directors. They are the people who put things in place at the top end and they are getting good rewards.

“I keep saying to Fred that he should enjoy this position. It’s his club and he has done a hell of a lot to get it to where it is now.”

United have kept advancing despite a turnover of managers which sees Ward as the third Brunton Park boss in the last two years.

“The people running this club dealt with losing Paul Simpson first,” said Ward. “Then there was the Neil McDonald situation – which is none of my business – but that could have easily unsettled the football club.

“Then the situation with myself and Greg (Abbott) could have unsettled it, but it hasn’t and that’s thanks to those people being involved.”

Ward will start planning for the 2008/9 season in the coming weeks but the United manager said he already has a core of players and a dedicated backroom staff which will rule out the need for any potentially damaging upheaval in the summer.

“A lot of these players are contracted through to next season and that is important,” said Ward. “I’ve got players here that want to be here, and I’ve got staff who want to be here.

“There is nobody not wanting to work here and it all sticks together that way.

“People can see the likes of Gary Madine and Darren Campion pushing through the levels of the football club and that means there is a stability at the top filtering through to the football side.”

Ward will shortly make decisions on the remaining out-of-contract players at United this summer.

Veteran defender Zigor Aranalde is among the players whose deals are about to run out and the hugely-popular Basque, 35, is likely to leave the club after failing to figure in Ward’s team for the last three months of the season.

Midfielder Grant Smith, whose short-term deal will run out shortly, is set to be offered a longer deal while Ward must also decide whether to retain Luke Joyce and Paul Arnison.

United will also resume contract talks with goalkeeper Keiren Westwood soon with the highly-rated former Manchester City man about to enter the last year of his current deal.