Gillingham's Andy Frampton is happy to play in an unfamiliar role as Martin Allen's side push for promotion
by Luke Cawdell
Andy Frampton is enjoying life in
midfield – even though he admits himself he is surprised to find
himself in that role.
The 33-year-old (pictured) has played
central defence for most of his career but this season under Martin
Allen he has been deployed further up the pitch.
He role as a defensive-midfield player has
helped the club to successive clean sheets, at Bradford and
York.
“Being a defender by trade throughout the
majority of my career I would never have dreamt to be in this
position but it’s been really enjoyable playing in that role and
long may it continue,” said the former Millwall man.
“It does give the full-backs the opportunity
to attack and we don’t want to leave ourselves too open at the
back. It is a bit of a safety net for the defence and for the two
centre halves to have a bit of cover.”
Frampton has started 10 of the last 11 matches
as part of a settled defensive unit. It is one area where Allen has
not made many changes.
“That does help,” Frampton said. “You get a
lot more consistency through doing it that way and I think the
results have shown that. It has certainly kept us quite solid.”
The Gills head into a game against Dagenham
this weekend, aiming to make shake off their poor home record, but
the contrast between points picked up at Priestfield and on the
road isn’t something Frampton is losing any sleep over.
“Maybe towards the end of the season our home
form will be better than our away form,” he said.
“It is the way football works sometimes. It
generally evens itself out over the course of a season.
“It’s a derby match on Saturday – well as
close as we get to one – and it should be a feisty affair.”
And with new signings arriving at Priestfield,
Frampton will be facing extra competition for the shirt.
But he believes the battle to win a place in
the starting XI is a good one.
He said: “It is a great atmosphere among the
players in the team and from those just outside and everyone is
pushing each other. It is the perfect recipe of a successful side
and hopefully it will carry us through to the end of the season. We
have good players waiting in the wings who can come on if
needed.”
And Frampton is hoping this season he can add
another promotion to his CV.
“It is a great feeling and it doesn’t come
around too often,” he said. “So when it does it is something to
grab hold of. This is something we have to grab hold of with both
hands.”
15/02/13
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