Versatile Kay: I’ll play where I’m needed

Oct 10 2007 by Nick Hilton, Liverpool Daily Post

ANTONY KAY has no complaints about returning to a role from his past in order to gain a present-day hold on a first-team place with Tranmere Rovers.

The versatile Yorkshireman sees himself as a centre-half first and foremost. But lack of opportunities in the Tranmere backline left the summer signing from Barnsley to dip into the versatile side of his game to break into the side.

Kay made his first league start of the season in midfield last weekend, helping Rovers to a 2-1 win at Southend.

The result took Tranmere to the top of the League One table and lifted some of the frustration from the shoulders of the 24-year-old, who was eager to make his own contribution to the team’s early-season success.

Kay said: “It was a big relief to get a first-team start after waiting for so long.

“I don’t mind playing in midfield. It is not my preferred position but at this moment I’m happy to play anywhere to get in.”

Kay, a first-team regular in Barnsley’s Championship side last season, was hoping to claim one of the two centre-back spots at the start of the campaign.

Instead manager Ronnie Moore kicked off with Ian Goodison and Ben Chorley, another new recruit, at the heart of the back four. The pair built up a solid partnership that helped Rovers put together a nine-game unbeaten run in the League.

Kay admits the manager had little incentive to change a successful side.

“I don’t think I had done anything wrong – but no-one in the team had done anything wrong either,” Kay said.

“I didn’t have the strongest case to go knocking on the manager’s door to ask why I wasn’t playing. The lads have been doing brilliantly.

“But it was good to see the gaffer change things a little bit at Southend and have faith in me to play centre midfield.”

Kay was handed his chance when Moore decided to abandon Tranmere staple 4-4-2 formation in favour of a 4-5-1 set up a Roots Hall.

Kay took the extra central midfield spot and found himself in a role he played regularly in the early part of his career at Barnsley.

He said: “I started there as a midfielder but then established myself as a centre-back over the past couple of years. But I have kept the extra string to my bow. When I do play centre midfield, I always like to get forward and try to score goals.

“On Saturday the gaffer gave Steve Jennings and myself a licence to push forward whenever we could and it worked well. Paul McLaren was the midfield player who sat deeper and he passed the ball so well.”

Kay saw the change of tactics in a positive light, rejecting the view of Southend manager Steve Tilson that Rovers had “come for a point”

Kay said: “If we had gone for a draw we would have sat back. But I think we had a lot of the play and created more chances than Southend did on the day.

“The fact that our midfield players were pushing on stopped them from playing. We forced them to knock the ball long and we coped with that as well.

“Even at 2-1 up were going for it. It should have been 3-1 because Ian Goodison’s shot was a yard over the line when the linesman declined to give the goal. Ian wasn’t happy about the decision because it would have been his first goal of the season.”

The Prenton Park faithful have seen Kay only in a series of cameo substitute appearances in the games this season – including one that yielded a dramatic late winner against Luton last month. He’s hoping for a first home start in Tranmere’s League One encounter with Walsall on Friday night.

Kay said: “If I can get myself in the team then I hope the fans will see me getting better and more consistent the more I play.”

Meanwhile Tranmere play host to Manchester City reserves in a Pontin’s League fixture at Prenton Park tonight kick-off 7pm.