Barnsley goalkeeper Nick Townsend is going to put personal rivalries aside for the journey to Birmingham City on Saturday.
The 23-year-old stopper began his career at St Andrews but never made an appearance for the Blues before moving to Oakwell in 2015, and he also has family who support the club.
“I play for the badge, and I play for Barnsley,” said Townsend. "We need the three points. So at the end of the day we’re going out for three points and winning the game.
“At the end of the day it’s the job and we need three points more than anything. My family and friends are all Blues fans but it’s what I’ve got to do, keep the ball out of the back of the net.”
Townsend is eager to put Tuesday night’s defeat at home to Burton Albion behind him by helping the team secure all three points this weekend.
The Reds’ keeper was beaten by two unstoppable shots from Brewers’ midfield duo Jamie Allen and Jacob Davenport, but he maintains that confidence remains high in the camp despite this latest setback.
“The lads know what position they’re in now and we have got to get ourselves out of it,” continued Townsend. "I think we can. We’ve obviously got a new Head Coach come in with new ideas of how we want to play, so hopefully we can get onto it.
“It’s not going to be easy, obviously it’s a new person coming in so he wants to change how we play, but I think, at the same time, we need to knuckle down now and get into it, and realise that we need to win it.
“He’s trying to make us believe that we can do it. We’ve got the quality to get ourselves out of it, and I think we just need to have a bit of belief and confidence and show that we can get out of it.
“I feel that some of the games we should have got more out of them, but I feel that confidence is still there with the lads; we’re not down in the dumps. We’re still buzzing around the place and we know we can get out of it, I think we just need to prove it now.
“If you look at the team and the quality we’ve got, we shouldn’t be where we are; we just need to knuckle down.”
Townsend has had to bide his time and be patient for an opportunity at Oakwell, but has started the Reds’ last three games.
Now, having established himself in the first team following a loan move to Solihull Moors, the stopper is keen to keep his place ahead of Adam Davies.
“To be fair, we just kind of stick together,” said Townsend. "Goalkeeper is one of those positions where there’s only one place, and whether it’s me in goal or Davo, we just stick together and knuckle down. We know our jobs, we know what we’ve got to do and we’ve got to get on with it.
“He’s been spot on; I’ve not got a bad word to say about him. He’s been supportive around me and helping me out with things on the pitch and how to deal with things.”
“It’s been a long wait but I’m glad I’ve finally pushed my way in - it’s been hard; I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t. I feel now that I’ve come to an age where my game is settled down.
“It makes you stronger, mentally, and you grow as a person. If it happens again, I’ll know how to deal with it and I feel I’m a stronger person for it.”
