Michael Nottingham chalked up 100 appearances for Accrington Stanley midweek and hopes his next few appearances can help the Reds climb the League One table.
The experienced defender has been out for most of the season after tearing an ankle tendon in pre-season and needing an operation.
He came back in the FA Cup last last year but picked up a different injury and started his first league game in nearly a year in the loss to MK Dons last Saturday.
The Reds lost to leaders Plymouth midweek and travel to mid-table Exeter City tomorrow, looking for a much-needed win which would move Stanley out of the bottom four, with Oxford not playing.
And Nottingham knows it’s vital for the Reds to come away something from St James Park with nine games to go.
“It’s a great achievement reaching 100 games and I have to thank John (Coleman) and Jimmy (Bell) for having the trust in me to play me in the first two seasons I was here, I appreciate that,” said the 33-year-old.
“This season has been hard, battling the injury, trying to get back as quickly as possible but it hasn’t really happened for me.
“I am now back in contention, still trying to get fit. I just want to play my part in keeping this club in League One this season, that’s the goal.
“The last few games have been tough, it’s hard to take especially with the games being at home as obviously you want to take as many points as you can at home.
“We have had some tough games, we knew they would be tough, but we have to take positives out of them.
“Two of the games, we were down to ten men, and put in some good performances so, although we didn’t take any points, we have to look for the positives and take it into the oncoming games.
“Every game is a cup final, every single one of them. It’s a cliché but we are going to have to take them one at a time and not worry about anyone else. We have to focus on ourselves and give it maximum effort and work hard for each other.”
Nottingham admitted the red cards have been tough – with six in the last 13 games.
“We need to keep everyone on the pitch, it’s important, it’s something which has crept into our game recently and it’s not great.
“We need to give ourselves the best chance and that’s with 11 men on the pitch. We have put in good shifts with the ten, and we will always do that, but we need maximum effort from everyone on the pitch and that’s what is going to get us out of it.
“We need to keep digging in for each other and keep going.”
He is coming back from his ankle tendon tear – but admits, his first major injury of his career has hit him hard.
“It’s quite a rare injury. When I did it, I didn’t think it was going to be something too troubling judging by the pain levels and what I was still able to do but it was something I couldn’t rehab.
“I needed surgery so had it done as soon as possible and was hoping to get back late last year but it wasn’t meant to be. It’s sorted now and hopefully I can get fit and do my job for the rest of the season.”
The full pre-match interview with Michael Nottingham is available to watch on the club's official YouTube channel, CLICK HERE to find out more!