Keith Keane played more than 60 minutes against Peterborough at right back on Tuesday and insists he is more than happy to play anywhere if starting.
The full back berth is one that Keane got to know well during the 2012/13 season, but this campaign he has reverted back to his more natural central midfield role.
But the former Luton Town man is happy to play anywhere if it means getting in to Simon Grayson’s starting XI.
“Right back is right back, it doesn’t change and I am happy to play there, I’m comfortable playing there,” said Keane, in an exclusive interview with PNE.Com.
“It is all about playing when you have a squad like ours, sometimes you don’t know what the team could be because we have so much depth.
“Players who have been playing every week can be changed to bring someone else in and freshen it up and that can surprise a few people.
“Your place in never guaranteed and first and foremost you are concentrating in getting in to that starting 11 and then you can worry about where you are playing.
“All you can do is try and take your chance when you get one, everyone in the squad knows that.”
Tuesday night was the Lilywhites’ first win this season after falling behind and Keane is hoping to build on the confidence gained from that result against a Crawley Town team who are playing Saturday-Tuesday-
Saturday in a bid to clear their fixture congestions.
The PNE No.2 continued: “Tuesday was the first time this season that we have come from behind, so that is another little monkey off our back against a good team in Peterborough who look like they could be in
the Play-Offs, so it is always nice to get a win and get confidence over them and hopefully we can take that confidence into Saturday’s game.
“It can be difficult to place twice a week, especially if the results are going against you; if they are going for you, it can help.
“Playing Saturday-Tuesday is not just tiring physically but mentality, having to prepare and going through game situations every three or four days, so hopefully we will be able to take advantage of that on Saturday.
“They have had a few decent results, they are a good team.
“To be fair, they were probably a bit fresh because they hadn’t played in so long, but they are doing well which is no surprise.
“They are a good team and have some very good players, it is going to be a tough game, but if we are at it and play as well as we can, then I’m sure we can come away with a win.
“Crawley is always a tough game, they play good football.
“We don’t just want to let the season run out, we want to finish it as good as possible, finish with as many points as possible and cement our place in the Play-Offs.
“We have never beaten them so we will still have a point to prove against them.
“They have always been good against us, they are a decent team and we know we are going to be in for a tough game on Saturday, but will be hoping to come away with the three points.”
In recent matches, Keane has found himself in circumstances similar to striker Stuart Beavon; good form of others rather than anything they have done wrong, keeping them out of the starting line-up.
But Beavon was given his chance to impress on Tuesday and do so he did, with a terrific work ethic and some wonderful footwork on display.
A performance that didn’t surprise Keane in the slightest.
Keano added: “If anything, Stuart Beavon has been quite unlucky with Joe Garner being on fire, because if you see what we see him do in training every day; me personally, I rate him very, very highly, a quality footballer and I am very happy that he is in our squad and not playing against us.
“Like he showed the other night, he does that every day in training, so it is nothing new to us, but it just shows the depth in the squad that we have got and I’m glad to have him in our squad.
“You can’t teach Beav that, I think he has got clue on his boots!” said Keane, when discussing Beavon’s sensational touch from Gallagher’s 70 yard pass in the second half.
“Honestly, he does that every day in training; it takes us by surprise sometimes.
“He pulls the ball out the sky and if he was in the Premier League and doing that, they would be showing it on TV over and over again, but he does it all the time, it is not a fluke, he is that good at doing it and I’m just glad to have him in our team.”