Cameron Burgess has admitted the strong competition for places among Town’s defenders has meant he has not played as much as he would have liked to in the Premier League this season.

The Blues defender has started 10 of Town’s 24 league matches this campaign but has only featured once in the last seven top flight matches since the home defeat to Newcastle United in December.

Manager Kieran McKenna has often had the challenging task of choosing between Burgess and fellow left-footed defender Jacob Greaves to play alongside Dara O’Shea at the heart of the Blues’ backline so far this season.

While acknowledging the challenges of competing for places in the Premier League, Burgess has highlighted the importance of being ready when called upon and says the whole squad have a part to play in Town’s survival aims this season.

“Everyone wants to play games, that’s what we’re here to do,” he said. “If you could finish the season playing every game in the Premier League then you’d be pretty happy but that’s not always going to be the case.

“With the group we’ve got here there’s competition for places. It’s about knuckling down and being ready when you get the chance. Many of us in this squad have been in this situation over the last two or three years that they’ve been here.

“It’s definitely a squad game for us and that’s where our strength lies in this league and we have to continue to remember that.

“First and foremost it’s not my decision, it’s the manager’s decision who he picks to play. I guess the same goes for Jacob as well, I think he’s been really good this season.

“The competition is what drives us forward, that probably gives the manager some tough decisions at times and on that front I’m thankful it’s not my decision to make.

“But obviously I want to play as many games as I can, hopefully I’ve shown that I can play at this level and that’s the ultimate goal to play as many games as I can, to win as many games as we can and continue to stay in this league.”

One of the most pleasing aspects of the season has been the significant impact that a number of players have made who have been with the club throughout both promotions from League One to the Premier League.

Burgess is one of those, along with the likes of Sam Morsy, Leif Davis, Wes Burns, Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead.

“The first thing to do is to prove we’re not League One boys anymore and to shift that tag a little bit and prove we can mix it at this level,” Burgess said. “Most if not all the boys have shown that.

“It’s about getting that consistency and doing it as a team. Come the business end of the season to prove that we belong here and that’s the ultimate aim.”

Of course, there have been many arrivals along the way with the most recent acquisition coming on Monday when goalkeeper Alex Palmer joined from West Bromwich Albion to compete with out-of-form Aro Muric and the recently-injured Christian Walton.

Burgess says Conor Townsend and Dara O’Shea, who both played with Palmer at the Baggies, have provided positive feedback on the Blues’ latest recruit, and is looking forward to seeing him in action for the first time.

The Australia international said: “I’ve played against him in the past. There’s a few lads in the dressing room that vouch for him really well and have played with him before so that’s good to hear.

“I’ve not had a chance to train with him yet but we’ll get to see him on the grass for the first time and I’m looking forward to training with him.

“He’s there to help us and we’re there to help him. That’s what we’ve always tried to do with each other no matter who it is whether it’s a goalkeeper or an outfielder. It’s up to us to help him and get him bedded down quickly and that’s what we’ll aim to do.”

There was also plenty of praise for fellow goalkeeper Cieran Slicker, who has regularly been spoken about in a positive light by manager McKenna, the coaches and his teammates.

Asked about the Scotland international call-up, Burgess said: “He’s been top, to be honest. All of the keepers have been, their attitudes are great and they train hard and it’s the same for all the other positions on the field where there’s competition for places.

“Slicks have been amazing in training and the opportunities he’s had, I can’t speak highly enough of him. From my point of view I think he’ll go on to have a really good career.

“Hopefully he gets his chance however that looks like, he just needs to knuckle down and doing what he’s doing because so far what he’s done for us in training has been nothing short of amazing.”

TWTD

bobble added 10:07 - Feb 8 Cam would be my 1st pick in defence as he has much more experience than all the other defenders put together against high quality attackers...
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Edmundo added 10:32 - Feb 8 Next season I think we could see Cam still vying for a place in defence, but being preferred for the games against the more direct teams. Hopefully he gets 90 mins today. Not sure Greaves has cemented his place TBH.
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midastouch added 11:27 - Feb 8 I think he's been unlucky not to have had more starts; he's done really well for us whenever called upon. I know the team needed strengthening for the Premier League, but I can't help but wonder where we might be now if we had stuck with the old guard a bit more regularly. They got us here in the first place and deserved their chance to shine. Some of the players we've signed don't seem like an upgrade over the likes of Burgess, Chaplin and Broadhead, etc. In fact, some (without naming names) feel like a downgrade. And even if it didn't work out with our Promotion heroes, we'd still have millions left in the bank to work with moving forward. Nonetheless, I'm still obviously a huge fan of McKenna; he's got more than enough credit in the bank given the miracles he's worked for us. I'm so grateful for how far he's taken us. I understand you need to be ruthless in football, but I do sometimes question if perhaps he was maybe a bit too ruthless with our squad from last season. Although I fully recognise that hindsight is a wonderful thing!

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blueboy1981 added 14:22 - Feb 8 ‘Drives us Forward’ ? - there’s plenty of space ahead in the table to do that, very little behind us !! When can we see this Forward Drive ??
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TimmyH added 14:38 - Feb 8 Most consistent defender we've had this season (when he's played which hasn't been enough)...O'Shea has improved too.
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