'I just love tackling!' - McWilliams relishing his responsibility in Town's midfield

Shaun McWilliams says he is enjoying the extra responsibility that has been placed on him in the centre of Town’s midfield this season.

The 22-year-old has returned from a long-term knee injury to become one of the first names on Keith Curle’s team sheet over the last couple of months.

Bar a three-game suspension for his red card against Doncaster, McWilliams has started every match in all competitions going back to November 21.

And with the Cobblers having to spend a lot of time without possession this season, the youngster’s tenacious off-the-ball attributes have been extremely valuable.

Speaking on the Cobblers Show on BBC Radio Northampton, McWilliams said: “The gaffer wants me in midfield to win the ball back as many times as possible so if I’m doing that, I know I’m doing a job for him and the team.

“I’m willing to do any task he asks me. I love to tackle and I’ll run all day and I think that helps the team to drive forward and knowing that we’ll all run for each other.

“Whether it’s stopping counter-attacks or landing on the ball higher up the pitch, I don’t mind where I play - I just love tackling and that’s what I want to do.

“(N’Golo) Kante is a player that I look at. He’s known for winning the ball back and look where that got him - he helped Leicester and Chelsea win the league. It really helps the team if you’ve got a ball-winner who gets possession back as much as possible.”

McWilliams now feels back to his tigerish best after taking a while to recover from his nine-month lay-off due to a bad knee injury.

He added: “It took quite a few training sessions to get back to 100 per cent. I was still a bit wary going into training sessions and matches when I first came back.

“It just clicked in training at one point and then I’ve grown in confidence from that and now I know my knee is strong.

“Fitness is quite hard because it takes a long time to build it up and then it can go quite quickly. You can miss out on a week and you feel it fitness-wise.

“I remember playing at right-back in my first game back at Plymouth and I just had to focus on breathing. I was playing against Danny Mayor, who’s a tough opponent, and it took a lot out of me.

“But fitness comes with games. There’s training fitness and match fitness so you have to play games to get through it.”