Derby County's Louie Sibley has admitted he was 'glad to be back out on the pitch' after being named in the starting line-up for the 2-1 home victory over Cheltenham Town last weekend.
Sibley reverted to left-back for the fixture, a position he spent a large chunk of the last campaign in, and whilst he admits it isn't his natural position he was more than happy to play his part for the team.
Speaking to RamsTV ahead of Saturday's trip to Charlton Athletic, Sibley reflected on the win over Cheltenham and spoke about being back in the side.
On returning to left-back last Saturday...
It was good to be back out there. I played at left-back quite a bit last season, so it wasn't new to me. It's something that I knew would be a possibility with us having a few injuries in that position to Fozzy and Callum Elder. I'm always happy to play there. I said after the game that you get a lot of the ball at full-back and, for me, that's obviously what I want. It's good to be back with the lads and hopefully we can go on a good run now.
On whether there are parts of being left-back that suit his game...
I was speaking to the gaffer and staff about it and with the way our full-backs get on the ball, for me that is a good thing. As a full-back you are up and down the pitch and I'm probably more attack-minded. The staff have got on to me about defending as well because that's a very important thing.
On whether he can see left-back becoming a permanent position...
Who knows? If there's an opportunity to play, whatever position, I'll always give it my all. I think everybody knows that my natural position is in midfield but when I get the opportunity at left-back, I'm still getting on the ball and I'm still creating chances. If I can help the team then I'll always do my best, whatever position I'm in.
On if he got an advanced warning that he'd be playing at left-back again...
I had a bit of an advanced warning, to be fair. We had a couple of days of training where I was getting used to that position again. It was very strange at first when I played there last year, even though I played at left-back a little bit when I was younger.
On how the players are feeling about being in the mix for promotion...
We are excited. We know that in the last couple of games we haven't performed as well as we'd like, but at the end of the season you don't look at that; you look at the wins. Against Cheltenham last weekend, overall the game wasn't amazing but we got the three points. Teams are going to come to us at Pride Park and sit back, defend and make it awkward, so at the end of the day we've got to keep winning and hopefully we can carry that on against Charlton on Saturday.
On feeling the pressure of winning every week...
Especially at home, loads of teams sit in and make it horrible. It is difficult. We know wherever we play, even away fixtures, the fans are up for it. We know wherever we go, it will always be difficult. We've just got to keep our performances high and as long as we keep winning and keep going in the right direction, that's the main thing.
