Having spent just under two months on the sidelines through injury defender Tom Parkes was thrust back into the action two weekends ago when he came off the bench to replace Jerry Yates with only 11 minutes on the clock.
Another 45 minutes followed in the 4-0 home victory over Colchester, and he got the full game under his belt on Saturday as he helped the team to a second consecutive victory at the Broadfield Stadium.
Speaking about the Crawley victory, he said: “It was a very hard-earned win in the end. We’re disappointed with the goals we conceded because we know we can defend better than that.
“Apart from that I thought we played some good football, at times, and I think the goals we scored came from playing decent football.
“The ones we let in were two sloppy goals and we know as a back four that isn’t good enough, especially after last week’s win and clean sheet. It’s going to happen every now and then, so we’ve just got to make sure we stay in focus.”
“Come the end of the game we had everybody throwing their bodies on the line to make sure we didn’t concede another,” he continued. “We were really frustrated that we let it get back to 2-2 and that’s why we came out in the second half to get on top quickly, and that’s what we did.
“The third goal was a great finish from Sowers [Jack Sowerby] and after that we did what we had to do to get the points. It’s always a tough place to come but the main thing for us is the win.”
Boxing Day signals the start of a run of four games in 11 days but he confirmed that it’s a spell footballers look forward to, with plenty of points on offer.
“We have a lot of games coming up so to start it off with two wins is exactly what we wanted,” he told us. “You’ve got to make sure you do the nest few days right. It can be difficult because you do sometimes think that you’re missing time with your family, but this is our job when it comes down to it.
“We’ve got to make sure that we play to our best on Boxing Day, because that won’t be easy. We know what Oldham are about, we got a great win down there, but that stands for nothing now.
“It’s another game and we’ll be looking to get another win at home.”
Having had that prolonged spell in the treatment room he also admitted that he was feeling good as he returns to full sharpness and fitness.
“I have to say that Macca has been fantastic while I’ve been out,” he said. “I was watching him when I was injured, and I could see the confidence growing into him.
“When that happens you know you’re going to have to bide your time to get back in. But the way it worked out was that Jerry Yates picked up an injury just 10 minutes in to the first game I was back, at MK Dons, so I ended up with way more pitch time than I expected down there.
“Macca then had to come off at half time last week, so I was back out there again, which was brilliant for me. The good thing is that I’m feeling much better with each game as it goes on.
“I’m ready to go but I do feel that there are little things here and there I still need to get back. It’s things like sharpness, and stuff like that, but I do feel good in myself and I’m happy to be back and involved.”
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