St Johnstone captain, Nicky Clark, is enjoying his new withdrawn role at the tip of Simo Valakari’s midfield diamond.
But the striker turned playmaker joked that he won’t be putting his hand up to deputise for the Perth side’s suspended “destroyer”, Sven Sprangler.
How to best fill the hole left by the Austrian, who will serve a one-game ban when St Mirren visit McDiarmid Park on Saturday, will be Valakari’s biggest selection dilemma.
Clark knows that it’s a tough ask for whoever gets the nod.
However, he’s confident that the team can cope without the man who has protected the back four so expertly in recent weeks.
“Me in the six?” said Clark. “No, there are definitely boys better than me to do it, that’s for sure!
“Sven has been brilliant for us.
“You could see that since Macca (Steven MacLean) brought him in.
“He’s a destroyer, that’s his game but he’s good on the ball as well.
“He’s tidy, keeps things ticking over and is always in good positions to pick up second balls.
“He’ll be a massive loss for us on Saturday but it will be a chance for someone else to come in and stake a claim and play that position.
“Hopefully they will do it well.”
Clark believes he still carries a goal threat for Saints even though Valakari has increased his defensive responsibilities of late.
“It’s a different position,” said the former Dundee United attacker. “Not an out and out striker.
“I think you’ve seen over the years I’ve always been a forward who sort of drops in.
“In an attacking sense it’s still about getting in the box and trying to get goals.
“It’s the defensive side that’s changed a bit – getting back in, winning second balls.
“We were excellent at that, the four of us in there, against Aberdeen.
“A big part of Aberdeen’s game is their two in the middle of the park getting on the ball and making things happen for them.
“We managed to stop that.”
Clark added: “I’m probably harder to pick up for defenders now. I’m coming in late, from a deeper position and we’ve still got the two strikers, which is key for us.
“If you play one striker and one off it’s probably harder to get out.
“Makenzie, Benji and Adama all have scary pace. They are always a threat but we need someone in there to link the play and it’s working well at the moment.”
Clark’s positional change has been seamless, as has the passing of the captain’s armband to him from Kyle Cameron.
“Listen, Kyle was great – and still is,” he said. “Nothing has changed in terms of him being the exact same as he always was.
“But the new manager came in and decided to make a change. It’s a great honour to captain this club.
“I’ve always tried to be a kind of leader here and to help the boys, especially the younger ones who have come from other countries and maybe don’t have their family around them.
“That’s the way I was before I got the captaincy and I’ll keep that going.
“I wear the armband on a Saturday but there’s more than just me and Kyle. There are six or seven good boys here who could have been captain.”
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