Even Mark Sykes acknowledges that if it hadn't been for the injury to Kane Wilson in pre-season, he probably wouldn't have started in each of Bristol City's three league matches this season.
The former Oxford United winger has taken to the Championship like a duck to water even in an unfamiliar right wing-back position to give manager Nigel Pearson a welcome selection dilemma.
He was one of City's brightest performers against Wigan at the weekend as he bombed up and down that right flank in the blistering sun. His cross to Tommy Conway which was agonisingly headed wide epitomised the quality he has in an advanced position.
As he emerged from the tunnel to give his post-match interview at the DW Stadium, he looked as though he had run a marathon across the Sahara Desert obviously completely physically drained as helped ensure City got their first point on the board.
However, Sykes knows that's the minimum required of him by the manager to keep hold of the shirt. While he continues to convince the manager, coaches and supporters of his worth, it's also his personal pride that motivates him to continue improving.
"I don't want to let anyone down," he said. "It's a personal pride.
"If someone plays me in a position, I don't want to have a bad game. Football is football and you're going to have a bad game but for me personally, I'll try my best to learn as much as possible because at the end of the day people judge you on the pitch and if you do well on the pitch people think you're a good player.
"If you're not doing well on the pitch people think you're a bad player so you've got to give yourself the best chance possible."
After the opening day defeat against Hull, Pearson praised Sykes for being a quick learner by highlighting two incidences in pre-season against Plymouth and Bournemouth where he was caught out positionally.
For a player playing in a makeshift position, it's only natural that there will be teething problems but Sykes is quickly adapting to the defensive side of his game knowing Wilson and George Tanner are waiting in the wings should he fail to maintain his level of performance.
"For any position in football, you want to have that person behind you itching to be on the pitch," he added.
"For me, I've experienced the whole lot. Last year at Oxford there were times I wasn't even in the squad and you've got to keep training hard and doing the right things and when you get your chance, you've got to take it.
"I've come in and looking back I probably wouldn't have started the season if Kane (Wilson) didn't get injured and I ended up playing against Bournemouth, played really well and I stayed in and that's how football works. That's what I always wanted to do, come here and not want to sit on the bench or not in the squad. I'm 25-years-old and I want to be playing games.
"I'm sure they'll be times when other lads are in that position throughout the season and I've got to take it back off them. I played there (right wing-back) eight or nine times but I've never really considered myself a defender so I suppose the more we have the ball, the higher I can get up the pitch and be myself a little bit more.
"But at times I feel like I have to grind it out and defend and I feel like I have done. I can't just be a so-called winger I've got to be playing at the back as well and help the boys there.
"For me, I'll do a job anywhere but I'm enjoying it there at the moment just unfortunately we're not winning games."
With a point on the board, attentions now turn to Luton on Tuesday at Ashton Gate before a crunch clash against Severnside rivals Cardiff on Sunday. Pressure on the squad and manager will only increase while the wait for three points continues and Sykes doesn't need reminding of the importance of getting points on the board over the next two matches.
He said: "I just mentioned it to myself more than anything, we now have something to build on. Now we go to Tuesday with something but I said earlier we've got to start getting points on the board, it's simple.
"You can't be downhearted about the start of the season, we've got one point in three games but we've got to go into every game thinking we can pick up a win and that starts again on Tuesday.
"I'm sure they'll be games where no one expects us to pick anything up and we'll come away with all three so Tuesday will be tough and Sunday will be tough but we've got to deal with it."
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