Town winger Jack Clarke accepts that the goalscoring form of Jaden Philogene has meant he has not played as many minutes as he would have liked this season.

The duo have been the Blues’ most lethal weapons in front of goal this season, but both are most effective on the left of the frontline, which has provided Kieran McKenna with a tough decision on selection.

Clarke and Philogene have regularly rotated, with the former more commonly used as an impact substitute which has helped Town achieve the most goals off the bench in the Championship this term.

But Clarke, who since Philogene’s recent injury has moved on to 12 goals, now two ahead of his teammate, has at no point felt sorry for himself, instead taking on the challenge of trying new roles and positions in the team in his bid to start as many matches as possible.

“Every player wants to play as much as possible to try and help, but it’s never felt like any sort of adversity from my side in terms of the role I’ve played this season,” he said.

“It’s something we’ve tried to look at. I’ve played a few games on the right and I played in the cup as a 10. When another player is playing well, you just want the best for the team in terms of winning games and picking up points.

“Jaden’s been playing really well and he’s been scoring goals. I feel like I’ve been playing well and also scoring goals, it’s just about finding the balance of what wins us games.

“I’ve played on the right more so than I’ve played as a 10. I played as a 10 in the cup and I enjoyed it, but I’ve enjoyed the games I’ve played on the right.

“Playing on the left to the right, everything’s just flipped almost like when you come inside from the left. I’m on my natural foot and the pitch feels like it opens up.

“If I'm coming in from the right and going onto my left, I’m not a natural left-footer, so it doesn’t feel as comfortable. Everything is flipped, if that makes sense.

“If you’re playing in the middle of the pitch as a 10, I can play on the left and drift in and it’s still the same sort of pictures. As a 10, it probably felt a little bit more comfortable, but it’s something I’ve got to try and work on if that’s something we’re going to pursue going forward.”

Even when playing in the favoured leftwing position, the role in the team has adapted slightly from when Clarke first joined the club from Sunderland.

Since relegation back to the Championship, the Blues have altered how they use their left-hand side with flying full-back Leif Davis often inverting into midfield and allowing the forwards more freedom out wide.

After taking the time to learn the tactical nuances that are required, Clarke says he has got to grips with what McKenna asks of him in that position.

He said: “It’s something we did look at trying to implement last year as well. I didn’t have a full pre-season here, I came after the season started and Jaden signed in January, so it was almost trying to learn on the job rather than having that six weeks in pre-season to learn new patterns and familiarise with each other.

“It is different in a sense, but I wouldn’t say it’s different too much. We have a lot more of the ball this season in comparison to last and we create more opportunities and get more opportunities to try things.

“If I was to just stand outside for 90 minutes, I'm sure teams would be able to pick up on that quite easily, and if Leif was to run on the outside for 90 minutes, teams would pick up on that as well.

“It’s being adaptable for what different games give you, and we’ve had more time together to be able to work on things in comparison to last year.

“When I signed for the club, I was a similar but a different player to what I am now. I could only really play on the left and wanted to have the touchline behind me, hug the touchline and that’s where I felt most comfortable and felt like I could do my best stuff.

“The conversations ever since I’ve come in are just where you can hurt opposition and that changes game to game. Whether it’s inside or outside, it’s just trying to work on every part of that so you feel like you can have the opportunity to play and impact in every game.”

Unlike his time at Sunderland, Clarke’s off-the-ball work has become almost as important as his work in possession, particularly during last season in the Premier League.

The 25-year-old is pleased with his own progress in that department, but knows there are still developments to be made.

He said: “That was probably more of the conversations that we’ve had, especially last year. You can’t really carry people in the game anymore. In terms of off-the-ball, I didn’t really have as much defensive responsibility at other clubs that I’ve been at in comparison to here.

“It’s something we’ve tried to double down on and I think I’ve progressed in that area. I’d still like to improve but I think that’s been a massive jump forward for myself.

“I definitely feel like I’ve improved and got better with time. It took a while to adapt and the Premier League is not the most forgiving league in the world. They make it as difficult as they can for you to learn and try and implement things you’ve been doing.

“I got a full pre-season in this season, had a lot of time to work on it, played a lot more games, got used to playing with players that I’ve not played with before, and I feel like I’m a better player for it.”

Photo: TWTD