BEN Goodliffe has vowed to be ready when called upon for Colchester United this season – and insists he won’t sulk if he isn’t in Danny Cowley’s starting line-up.
The 25-year-old defender made his first league start for the U’s since October 26 in their 1-0 victory at Grimsby Town, last weekend.
Goodliffe impressed in tough conditions to help Colchester record their first away win of the season in League Two, along with a maiden clean sheet on their travels.
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And after being recalled to the team in place of injured skipper Tom Flanagan, the former Sutton United centre-back says he is striving to stay consistent.
Goodliffe said: “I always want to play – I think every footballer will say the same.
“But at the end of the day, the manager picks the team and I’ve just got to be ready when I am called upon to make sure that I give the best performance that I can and stay consistent.
“I’m as professional as it comes really; there’s no point sulking if you’re not in the team because it’s never going to do you any favours.
“You’ve just got to be ready and be right in training, be right in games, let the manager pick the team and hope you’re in it.”
Colchester claimed their first win in nine league matches with their victory at Grimsby.
John-Kymani Gordon’s late strike sealed them victory at Blundell Park, lifting them four points above the League Two relegation zone ahead of this weekend’s trip to play Fleetwood Town.
“It’s a big lift for the squad, especially as it’s our first away win of the season,” said Goodliffe, who joined the U’s on a two-year deal in the summer.
“It can only stand us in good stead and hopefully, we can back it up now with another good performance at Fleetwood.
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“The clean sheet had been a long time coming and we need to try and be consistent with those.
“We’ve got a lot of quality at the other end of the pitch and if we can try and put both of them together and get the first goal at least, at least we’ve got something to hold onto if we’re under the cosh, for example.”
Goodliffe was impressive for Colchester in their win at Grimsby, growing in confidence as the game went on to help his side claim victory at a rainswept Blundell Park.
Goodliffe added: “I feel like I’m an old school sort of defender.
“As defenders, you always want to put your body and your head where it hurts.
“But with the weather the way that it was, it was quite difficult at times.
“You have to judge the flight of the ball at times and that can be difficult, as sometimes you don’t really know what the wind’s going to do with the ball.
“I thought as a back four especially, we did really well to manage that.
“I thought we were very resilient, throughout the whole game.
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“The conditions didn’t help us or them especially the first half, with the wind against us.
“It was difficult to try and squeeze the pitch at times and the ball was swirling around all over the place but I thought we managed it well and got into half-time 0-0.
“We knew that second half was going to be a different sort of game with the wind in our favour and I thought we did well with the conditions, to get a foothold in the game.”
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