Nnamdi Ofoborh explained how he has managed to return to prominence at Swindon Town having been frozen out earlier this season.

Despite beginning the season as a starter under Mark Kennedy, by September, the former Lincoln City manager had made him available for loan and left him out of multiple matchday squads as he believed he would have to go elsewhere to get the regular football he needed.

The then-Swindon boss said: “But I think going forward, if I was to be stern in my thoughts then I would look at the options of where he is going to get the most football.”

However, Ofoborh chose to remain at Swindon and fight for his place and this decision has paid off as he made himself into a core part of the team over the hectic Christmas period and Ian Holloway has started him in five of Swindon’s last six league matches.

Asked ahead of Town taking on Tranmere Rovers in League Two how he assessed how his season had gone, the midfielder said that he never lost belief in reclaiming his place and decided to show that he deserved his place.

He said: “It hasn’t been easy; if a manager does not want you to be a part of his plans then that is tough.

“But my focus was always that I am going to give 100 per cent every day and do what I have got to do whenever I am called upon and perform as well as I can.

“Now that we have had a new manager come in and I am playing as many games as I can and if I can help the team as much as possible and get the results that we have then that is all I am here to do.”

Ofoborh added that it is helpful to have a manager like Holloway who has an immense amount of faith in what he can bring as a player and also as a character.

He said: “Everyone wants a manager who has confidence in them and has trust in them.

“I have spoken to him one to one here and there and he says that I could be a leader in the team and help some of the younger boys with my experience.

“If he believes in me and I believe in myself then we have just got to keep moving forward and that can lead to good things.”