Brentford full back Nico Yennaris has no plans to let Maxime Colin walk back into the team as the Frenchman nears a return from a knee injury.
The summer signing from Anderlecht had impressed in his first few games for the club but suffered a knee injury in training in September as Brentford were in the midst of an injury crisis.
Josh Clarke and Alan McCormack took on the role at right back but, with the former going out on loan to Barnet and the latter moved into midfield, Yennaris has made the spot his own in recent weeks.
And with his team-mate coming back, the former Arsenal man, who was on loan at Wycombe last season, has no intention of returning to the bench.
He said: “I'm not going to give up my shirt without a fight, no footballer does. At the end of the day, we want to be playing football.
“I've got to perform at the level I've set myself and make sure I fight for the shirt and keep the shirt.”
Yennaris' performance against MK Dons was particularly impressive and would have caught the eye of new boss Dean Smith.
The full back is excited by the chance to work with the former Walsall boss and has been enthused by his first impressions of the 44-year-old.
Yennaris added: “He's come in and the lads have responded. He's said he's not going to change what we've got.
“We're going to try and improve on what we've done. He's not changed much around. He hasn't unbalanced anything.
“I think the boys are looking forward to working with him. He's laid out what he demands and what he wants.
“He's come in and seen that the team spirit and the team is already there. He can come and build on top of it.
“He's done extremely well at Walsall and we've seen what he's done there on a low budget similar to us. Hopefully he fits the perfect role.”
