Ryan Yates has played 99 games for Nottingham Forest, but one problem he has never had is a lack of support from those inside the club.
It is perhaps only in the last 10 appearances that he has won over the majority of fans, with his performances since Chris Hughton left, thanks to a more progressive attitude on the ball under Steve Cooper.
While former managers and a large section of fans have seen the value in the 23-year-old's work, there has been a consistent group that have never been convinced he has the quality to be one of the first names on the team sheet.
Yates has been a regular since Martin O'Neill's appointment in January 2019, but by his own admission is no Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, teammate Joe Worrall says he is comparable to the Manchester United legend in one sense, even if he says his good friend is ' such an average footballer'.
"He gets pelters the lad does, pelters (from fans). I love Yatesy to bits, probably more than any other player I've played with," Worrall told former BBC Radio Nottingham presenter Robin Chipperfield.
"He's such an average footballer but he takes his game to the next level because he eats, sleeps and drinks football.
"He lives in the gym, he eats so well and he doesn't drink. He's so focussed on football that he is, I imagine, what Ronaldo is like. I speak of him in that high a bracket. (I can see the headlines now) Worrall compares Yates to Ronaldo.
"He's nowhere near as capable of a footballer. You'd never know he was suffering from constant abuse if you saw him in the changing room."
One man who knows what it is like to play in front of the Forest back four is Guy Moussi. The former midfielder was a guest on this week's Garibaldi Red podcast and he feels Yates is one of the first names on the team sheet.
For Moussi, Yates may lack the natural ability of other former academy talents in Alex Mighten and Brennan Johnson, however, he is someone a manager can trust implicitly - and that will give him an edge in any selection debate.
"He is one of the first choice players. There's a big difference between Yates and some of the other players," he said.
"I remember seeing him break into the first team and we talk a lot about Alex and Brennan, Yates has not less quality, but more to improve on I would say.
"He measures his game not to do crazy things. He says 'I have to do simple things to do my job'.
"He's the type people are questioning because people have been hard with him. He's never had time to drop his shoulders and feel comfortable. He always feels people will judge him and he has to prove himself.
"He never loses his hunger. He knows where he's come from and potentially where he wants to go.
"I would say to Yates more than the fans, don't worry about it, it can make you a better player. One of the reasons for me he is a number one choice in the midfield is because as a manager you need to know he will give me 100 percent.
"He will never get complacent and will stay 100 percent focussed. That is one of the hardest things in football.
"Sometimes you have a good game and you think you're the new Paul Scholes or Cristiano Ronaldo. I would say to him, try to take the positive of every situation and move on.
"He's doing so well so far so keep doing the same thing."
