Mark Harris says talks over his Cardiff City future are currently on hold as the club bid to stave off relegation to League One but insists he's ready to step up if called upon by Sabri Lamouchi over the next few weeks.
Having previously been a regular, the 24-year-old has found game time hard to come by under the current management regime. After starting the Frenchman's first game in charge at Luton, Harris has been restricted to just three appearances off the bench in recent weeks, notching up just 38 minutes of game time in that period.
It's a run that will spark pressing questions over his future at the club. The Wales international is out of contract this summer and there appears to be little sign of a new deal.
Then again, Harris himself admits such talks are unlikely to be high on the agenda right now, with relegation still an uncomfortably real possibility.
"We've got more important things to sort out at the minute in terms of getting out of the situation we're in," he told WalesOnline.
"I'm sure there will be a time and a place to talk about that. But it's probably not the best time to talk about it at the minute. Nothing's been said or sorted yet."
Despite his lack of game time, Harris still believes he has something to offer over the coming weeks and says he's enjoyed working under Lamouchi.
"It's the same with any new manager, he added. "He's come in and tried to put his own stamp on things. We've had some good results recently, and we've got two big games coming up on Friday and Monday, which could now define our season.
"But he's been brilliant since he's come in. I know I haven't been playing, but I'm just keeping my head down, focusing, trying my best in training and hopefully he can give me that opportunity and I can repay him if he does.
"Every manager sees things in their own way. They pick the XI they believe is going to win that game in that week. I haven't been that person the last few weeks."
Another man in a similar boat in terms of not starting games is fellow Wales international Rubin Colwill.
The forward has also been used sparingly since Lamouchi took the reins in the capital, and found himself back in the Wales under-21s set-up during the last international break.
However, he's still a player tipped for big things and Harris believes the youngster's talent will soon shine through once more.
"I've always said it. I think he's an unbelievable player," Harris said of Colwill. "From when he first came in, that game against (Nottingham) Forest away when he scored those two goals. You knew straight away he had something about him.
"But he's not had his fair share of luck with injuries, which obviously hasn't helped. But you can see whenever you train with him and whenever you play with him that he's got that quality about him.
"I'm sure sure he'll kick on next season and everyone will see how good he really is."
For now, though, attention is firmly on the task at hand. The abandonment at Rotherham United and a last-gasp derby day defeat by Swansea City have dealt Cardiff some significant setbacks in their survival bid. But Harris insists the mood in the camp remains high.
"It's been a difficult season," he continued. "Some of the games haven't gone our way. But we have played well in some of those games. It's just about getting the three points from those games and that's the main thing. Games haven't gone our way, we haven't had the rub of the green, but we're sticking together. We've all got high hopes and I'm sure we'll have enough to stay up and get out of the situation we're in.
"There's still confidence we can get out of it. We all know what happened at the weekend. From 2-0 down to coming back and then the last-minute goal is a bit a of a sucker punch. We were obviously gutted.
"But we're confident. We all feel we can get out of the situation and it's just about putting it on the pitch and letting our football do the talking."
Mark Harris was speaking at the Cardiff Happy Readers and Fun Football event celebrating McDonald’s pledge to distribute over 10m books and over 2m hours of free Fun Football coaching to families in the UK this year. Find out more visit mcdonalds.co.uk/family
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