Town goalkeeper Dean Gerken has emphasised the importance of building on last week’s first home win of the season against Wigan.

Saturday’s home clash with fifth-placed Sheffield United kickstarts a hectic spell in which Gerken & Co will play four league games in the space of just 11 days as they seek to climb off the bottom of the Championship table, where they are five points adrift of safety.

Gerken, 33, said: “Everyone in English football, from the Premier down to the lower leagues, knows what a tough spell it is at this time of the year.

"A lot of the big teams in all the leagues can get caught out over the Christmas period and come unstuck.

“It’s up to us to dig in deep and make sure we get the points we need. Then, come January, we can be in a real position to kick on.

“When we had our other win at Swansea we didn’t follow it up how we wanted to do but we know that getting three points and putting a run together is the way we are going to get out of our situation.

“We’ve played brilliant football since the new manager has been here and maybe not got what we deserved.

“But now we’ve got the monkey off our backs, hopefully the win against Wigan can turn into a run of decent results that put more points on the board. At least we know we can do it now.

“You can get confidence from the good performances but they don’t change the league table — it’s the wins that do that — and with only two wins so far this season we need more wins and the sooner the better.”

Gerken says he likes playing at this time of the year, adding: “I haven’t done it for a while but, yes, I do enjoy it. Christmas is all about the kids and as players we’ve got to do everything properly.

“You can’t really enjoy it like other people but when your kids open their presents it’s the smiles on their faces that gives you the Christmas you need.

“You get bigger attendances at the games because people are off work and there’s a bit more of a buzz around the place because it’s the holiday season.

“The games come thick and fast, and as a footballer you should enjoy that and there often a few shock results as well.”

Gerken and Polish international Bartosz Bialkowski have shared the goalkeeping position this season, with 10 and 12 league appearances respectively, but it’s Gerken who is the man in possession right now.

Asked if he might have thought a few weeks ago that he might get no further than the bench during the festive period, he replied: “As a goalkeeper you always have to believe there could be an opportunity round the corner.

“You have to keep sticking to your guns and working hard in training. We had a change when Jimmy Walker came in as the new goalkeeping coach and that gave us a fresh look with a differently structured training programme.”

Gerken came in when Bialkowski was dropped for the East Anglian derby clash with Norwich in early September but after an uninterrupted run of eight games they switched places again after Gerken was caught out for the first goal in the 2-0 home defeat by QPR.

When Town travelled to Leeds a few days later for a midweek fixture he found himself relegated to the bench and Bialkowski regained his place.

Another 2-0 defeat signalled an end to Paul Hurst’s brief reign and when Paul Lambert took charge the following week he was happy to give Bialkowski the nod.

However, an uncharacteristically shaky display by the Pole in the 3-2 home defeat by Bristol City saw Lambert reverse things once again, recalling Gerken, and the Essex-born keeper is expected to make it three games in a row for the Blades’ visit this weekend.

He added: “To be honest it’s never a surprise to be left out when you have Bart behind you and you are fully aware of the pressure of being in goal and trying to keep your place.

“That pressure never goes, whether you win, lose or draw. I only found out the day before the Leeds game that I wouldn’t be playing and I was obviously gutted about it.

“But it was a weird situation because I was out for one game and then Paul Hurst lost his job. You don’t dwell on it because you have the new manager to impress and thankfully I’ve been able to do that.”

Photo: TWTD

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