Jason Brown is happy to sacrifice his goal tally so long as Peterhead keep up their title charge.
He broke into double figures last season from the back and is on three so far this campaign.
The former Caley Thistle defender netted against today’s opponents Berwick Rangers in a 5-0 win at Shielfield Park last month and followed it up three days later with another in the 1-1 draw with Edinburgh City.
But with the Blue Toon still chasing City – they are three points behind with a game in hand – he is happy to miss out on the goal trail if the wins keep on coming.
Brown said: “As long as we’re winning, that does for me. I’m a few behind last year but I’m not too bothered about that. I’m a defender first and foremost, so it’s not my first aim to score goals. It’s to keep them out.
“It would be nice to get another one or two. Last year was a good one on the goal front – you don’t normally get to double-figures as a defender. I’ve got three this season which is not too bad and there’s still half a season to go. But I’d rather be keeping clean sheets than scoring goals.”
Brown is in line for a return to the starting line-up tomorrow for the Blue Toon, with Jamie Stevenson’s injury set to keep him out and give the 22-year-old the right-back spot.
Mick Dunlop and Cammy Eadie have been the centre-back pairing of choice for Jim McInally in the last three games, following a suspension for Brown.
He added: “I feel quite comfortable wherever I play. I’m more than happy so long as the manager is playing me. Mick has been good to me and Cammy and they have done well over the last couple of weeks.
“Competition for places is always good and if you’re not on you’re game, you won’t be playing. That’s the bottom line and it keeps you on your toes.”
Berwick have struggled at the bottom of League 2 for the majority of the season and will make the long trip north with four wins out of 19 games this season. They lost at Balmoor 1-0 in September, as well as last month’s heavy reverse.
Brown said: “We had a good result down there but they always give us a tough game. We’re just looking after ourselves at the minute and making sure we keep winning games. If the chance comes (to go top) we need to capitalise on it.”