Since arriving on a loan deal that saw him swap Aston Villa for Vale Park, Mitch Clark has been a regular in the Port Vale team, whether that be on the left or right side of defence.
The 19-year-old is now into double figures in terms of appearances in Sky Bet League Two and he also helped Vale to a Checkatrade Trophy win over Burton Albion during midweek, but he insists there is more to come.
Having made the step from under-23's football with Villa to the senior level in the fourth tier, Clark admits that he has to endure a few fiesty challenges, but he is determined to stand up to the physicality of the division.
He said: "I've taken a few elbows over the recent weeks, but before I came I had people at Villa telling me to be ready for the physical side of it. I had to come prepared, but I just take them.
"The lads welcomed me in here and I'm still enjoying it. We've had some good results and some bad ones too, but on a personal level I think I've been playing well.
"I've made a few errors and it's my job to learn quickly from them - hopefully I can keep progressing.
"The mistake at Grimsby was a massive learning curve for me and it wasn't something that I would usually do, so I'm just focusing on not doing it again.
"I enjoy playing either side of the defence and I'll play wherever the gaffer wants me to. I'm right footed, but I'm enjoying left-back at the moment."
With Vale suffering back-to-back defeats in Sky Bet League Two following a four-game unbeaten run, Clark is hopeful that he and his teammates can re-establish their best form.
Lincoln City provide the opposition on Saturday afternoon and Danny Cowley's men will travel to Vale Park as league leaders, but the defender believes it's a game that the Valiants can be successful in.
He said: "This game will probably be the biggest test so far this season, but I'm looking forward to facing a big, strong and physical side. Hopefully I can show what I can do.
"The morale would be so high if we win and everybody would be buzzing. It would set the standards high for us.
"Everybody can tell that we are a little inconsistent at the moment and we are either playing well or underperforming, but we are trying to find our feet.
"Confidence is still high in the squad and we are determined to start picking up results on a consistent basis.
"We know ourselves that the results over the last few games haven't been good enough and we know that we should be doing better. For us to know that, it means we will improve."