Polish goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski is revelling in the fact that he has established himself as Mick McCarthy’s number one choice.

Bialkowski, 27, is at the peak of his career in England right now and on the brink of what he would consider his greatest achievement in the game, promotion to the Premier League with Town.

He has been there before, as a member of the Southampton squad that took the giant leap from League One to the top flight in successive seasons between 2010 and 2012, but readily admits to being on the periphery of that particular achievement.

He said: “Where I am now is the high point of my career. Yes, when I was at Southampton we managed to win back-to-back promotions but I wasn’t playing, I was on the bench. I was happy but at the same time I didn’t feel a part of what had been achieved.

“Now I am playing and it is different. I want to achieve promotion to the Premier League and experience what it is like. Playing is everything for me.

“You can train hard every single day but that’s not going to take you anywhere. You need games if you are going to improve and achieve anything.”

But Bialkowski knows not to take anything for granted and accepts that Dean Gerken, whose position he took in November at Blackpool, is anxious to regain his first team status.

He added: “I still need to stay on my toes. Dean has just come back from injury and Paddy [Kenny] is also here now. They have been fantastic in training, really pushing me, and I know I cannot relax.

“I just need to do my job in every training session, as well as in every game, and hopefully I am going to keep my place. I’m confident right now but I know about the competition from the other keepers.

“I know Dean well, of course, but Paddy has also been brilliant since he joined us. He’s such a good lad. I didn’t know him before so I didn’t know what to expect from him.

“He’s been absolutely brilliant, a top guy and a top keeper. He’s experienced as well and he’s there to help me.”

Kenny’s arrival has pushed youngster Michael Crowe down the pecking order but Bialkowski believes the Welsh U19 cap would benefit from a loan move at this stage of his career.

He said: “I have been in that position myself and as a young keeper you just need to play as many games as you can. You might need to go somewhere else on loan to find the games but it will be up to Michael and the manager to decide what is best for him.

“He is good enough to play in League One or League Two and he is improving all the time so that would be a good step for him.”

Photo: Action Images

Mr_Evans added 08:02 - Feb 6 A very capable goalkeeper, who may be the guy between the sticks for many years to come. I hope Crowe can go out on loan and pick up some plaudits.
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theblueginger added 12:22 - Feb 7 I can't put my finger on why, but Bart strikes me as a really decent chap. Honest and Intellegent. I would say he is the best all-round Goalkeeper we have had in several seasons. Long may it continue!
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