Clark Keltie speaks to the Quaker matchday magazine. This article was originally printed in the Darlington v MK Dons programme on December 29th.

Following the sweeping changes at the club over the summer midfielder Clark Keltie finds himself as one of the few current players with over 100 league starts in a Darlington shirt to his name. Only Neil Wainwright has started more games for Quakers' but it has not been without its frustrations for Keltie. Those frustrations are hopefully a thing of the past for the midfielder who has broken back into the squad and turned in some good performances.

Since bursting onto the scene in 2002 Keltie has suffered plenty of injury woes which have caused the hardworking player to either miss out on the start of seasons or find himself sidelined come May. Last season was unfortunately no different. A hand injury in the derby game against Hartlepool in March sidelined Keltie for the remainder of the season and his return to action was further delayed by a double hernia during pre-season.

"In the end I hadn't played first team football for about five months. The last game I played was the Hartlepool match and obviously I was really down after that game and wanted to put things right out on the pitch. It was frustrating that I couldn't play again. I then came back into pre-season and in the first days I felt a lot of pain. I found out it was a double hernia and that was a massive set-back," said Keltie.

"These things have been happening to me the last few years now and it is really frustrating that I can't get a full season under my belt. I've worked hard and got my head down and now I am back in the team which is the main thing. I've healed quite quickly and I've done the right things in rehab. I was actually back in three weeks but I got a slight adductor problem which set me back another two weeks."

"Unfortunately you can't rush these things but it was getting to the stage where the physio was having to put the reigns on me. I really wanted to get back because I hadn't played in any of the pre-season games but I am back now and at full fitness and really enjoying my football at the moment," he said.

Keltie has wasted little time since recovering from injury. The midfielder made two appearances off the bench before starting the 1-1 draw with Rochdale in October and since then has figured regularly both from the start and the bench earning the manager's praise along the way. The twenty-four year old has been getting the ball down at every opportunity and is clearly benefiting from having better players around him.

"The gaffer stressed when I came back into the team that he wanted to play a bit more football. Now that we have the ball on the floor it suits my game and I think that is brining the best out of me. Any player will benefit from playing with better people. The lads that the manager has bought in have strengthened the team and in the right areas. I feel more confident playing with those lads," he said.

One thing that Keltie has lost since his return from injury is the captaincy. Made skipper last season Keltie held onto the captains' armband when manager Dave Penney arrived in October last year however the arrival of Steve Foster has seen his skippers' role come to an end. Reflecting on it however the midfielder feels the captaincy couldn't have been handed to a better player than the former Scunthorpe United man and admits he is now free to concentrate on himself, something he is doing in fine fashion so far.

"I was very proud to be captain of the club but it wasn't a massive issue for me. Fozie is an experienced professional and to be honest you couldn't really give it to a better person. He has settled in so well, he makes the game look so easy and he is a great leader. I did love being captain and I've been here a long time now so it was an achievement but Fozie has come in and he has done a fantastic job so fair play to him," said Keltie.

"Not having the captaincy has released some of the pressure in a certain way and I am free to just get on with my own game. To be twenty-three and to be captain was a great achievement for me but looking back at it now I don't know if it was the right choice. Anyone who turns down the chance to be captain would be daft. There was no dead certain person to be captain at that time so I stepped forward. I was honoured and pleased to do it but fair to Fozzie he has been great."

Kevin Luff