Ronan Curtis says he has shown his worth after responding to being dropped by netting twice for Portsmouth in as many matches.
The Ireland striker had lost his place on the left flank to Michael Jacobs for the recent games against Charlton and Plymouth.
But Curtis scored a goal with four minutes left after coming on against Plymouth to help Pompey to earn an unlikely 2-2 draw.
Then the 24-year-old hit the first goal in a 2-0 win over Swindon last night, his 10th goal of the season in all competitions.
"The gaffer picks the teams he thinks is strongest to play against whoever," Curtis told 'The News'.
"I was out of the team and I showed him what I was capable of doing - I’ve shown him that over the past three seasons now.
"I’m just happy to be back in the team scoring or setting goals up for the team.
"Hopefully everyone knows what I can bring to the table by now and it’s about keeping that high demand on myself.
"I want to keep scoring and keep setting up chances."
Curtis was absent last month after testing positive for Covid-19 and sat out three matches.
But now Jacobs has suffered a hamstring injury that opens the door to the former Derry City ace to nail down that starting slot again for Pompey, who have moved up to fourth place in League One.
"The competition motivates me 100%," stated Curtis, who earned his sixth cap in Ireland's scoreless draw against Bulgaria in the Nations League in November.
"You’ve got to have a fight in every position.
"Fair play to Crackers (Jacobs), he came in against Charlton and showed everyone what he could do.
"It was a pity he got injured but he shows there’s competition at this club.
"There’s loads of games and the manager will rotate the team.
"It’s about staying humble, not sulking and getting on with it."
