Danny Gabbidon is delighted to be back in action and is aiming to build on that in the months to come with West Ham United.
The Wales defender made his first appearance for the club in two months in the 3-3 draw at Hull City last Saturday in an unfamiliar left-back position. Gabbidon also played there against Wigan Athletic on 12 September but it remains to be seen what manager Gianfranco Zola - who offered plenty of praise for his weekend display - will decide for Burnley on Saturday.
Gabbidon said: "It was good to get a game [at Hull]. I felt good out there. I was hoping I could start the game well because I haven't played for over a month or so I was fairly pleased with how it went. Playing left-back as well was an adjustment. It was nice to get a run out and it would have been nice to get a win but it wasn't to be. We move on to the next game."
With James Tomkins, Herita Ilunga and Jonathan Spector all possibly pushing for recalls for the visit of Burnley, the Hammers could well have a full complement of defenders to choose from. Whoever gets the nod, the experienced centre-back, who returned after 18 months out with back and abdominal troubles in the summer, said the rearguard and the rest of the squad were all fully focused on the job in hand.
"I don't think we are that far away from being where we want to be," the 30-year-old said. "We showed [at Hull] we can play some good football, especially in the first half where we were two-nil up. It is just playing that way for 90 minutes, having the confidence to keep the ball and make the right decisions.
"We need to defend as a team, attack as a team and at the moment we are not quite doing it for 90 minutes. We showed what we can do in the first half for certain periods and then we showed the bad side as well. We have to cut those negatives out and the results will come. The minute we start defending better as a team, making better decisions and keeping clean sheets that is when the results will come."
The Wales defender made his first appearance for the club in two months in the 3-3 draw at Hull City last Saturday in an unfamiliar left-back position. Gabbidon also played there against Wigan Athletic on 12 September but it remains to be seen what manager Gianfranco Zola - who offered plenty of praise for his weekend display - will decide for Burnley on Saturday.
Gabbidon said: "It was good to get a game [at Hull]. I felt good out there. I was hoping I could start the game well because I haven't played for over a month or so I was fairly pleased with how it went. Playing left-back as well was an adjustment. It was nice to get a run out and it would have been nice to get a win but it wasn't to be. We move on to the next game."
With James Tomkins, Herita Ilunga and Jonathan Spector all possibly pushing for recalls for the visit of Burnley, the Hammers could well have a full complement of defenders to choose from. Whoever gets the nod, the experienced centre-back, who returned after 18 months out with back and abdominal troubles in the summer, said the rearguard and the rest of the squad were all fully focused on the job in hand.
"I don't think we are that far away from being where we want to be," the 30-year-old said. "We showed [at Hull] we can play some good football, especially in the first half where we were two-nil up. It is just playing that way for 90 minutes, having the confidence to keep the ball and make the right decisions.
"We need to defend as a team, attack as a team and at the moment we are not quite doing it for 90 minutes. We showed what we can do in the first half for certain periods and then we showed the bad side as well. We have to cut those negatives out and the results will come. The minute we start defending better as a team, making better decisions and keeping clean sheets that is when the results will come."