Gillingham defender Max Clark admits he feels more at home playing in the left-back role.
The 28-year-old returned to the side last Saturday as manager Mark Bonner switched back from a wing-back system to a more traditional 4-4-2 set-up.
Clark started the season in a four-man defence but Bonner switched the way they lined up in a bid to end a run of defeats in October. It worked for a time, but back-to-back losses to Harrogate and Bromley prompted a rethink for the game against Salford, which the Gills won 1-0 as they reverted to four at the back.
He said: “I think I’m probably more of a left-back because the wing-back these days is more like a winger. I’m more like an old-fashioned left-back who just tries to be consistent in every game.
“You’re not going to beat a man or do all this tricky stuff. It’s just trying to be consistent with performances and just trying to lead as well in some ways and just be consistent with playing.”
Clark missed the game at Bromley after his partner gave birth to a baby boy, their second child. He was back for the game against Salford as the players looked to prove a few people wrong.
There had been plenty of criticism after a loss to Bromley had come so soon after being beaten at home by a Harrogate side who haven’t pulled up any trees in League 2 this season.
Clark said: “I think we had each other’s backs out there and really communicated well and we got a dogged win, which in this league, more times than not, they’re the nice ones you’re actually happy in the changing room with.
“It just felt like everyone was together as one. I thought we got after people. We didn’t allow them to have much time on the ball.
“We went with a game plan and I felt like the lads really had their heads on and we realised that we need to start stepping up.
“It’s us players that need to deliver because the staff around us are giving us the plan and we need to take it on and do it ourselves.
“It felt like we all stepped up, we all had each other’s backs and we need to do that for the rest of the season.
“Us players, we need to take on board the instructions and actually take it on to the pitch. Just be confident and not shy away from things and just go there full throttle.
“We need to be confident and back each other. There are no excuses.”
It’s an even bigger test next when they play MK Dons away, a side flying in the league with six straight wins behind them.
Clark said: “When you go up against Milton Keynes, you have to be disciplined. You have to know your role when you’re going out there.
“You just have to communicate and make it as hard as them to break us down and then with the ball, you have to be good.
“You have to make sure that you look after the ball when you get it. At times you might not have it for a spell. That’s just the way they play. The pitch is big there.
“We just have to be disciplined and make sure that we’re keeping our shape and do what we feel like we’re good at and we take it to them.”
