Honesty is the best policy

ANTHONY GERRARD . . . key man for Athletic.

UNCOMPROMISING defender Anthony Gerrard is relishing his role as Athletic’s enforcer in chief.

The 30-year-old centre back continues to prove his worth in Sky Bet League One relegation battles, helping Athletic to a second straight clean sheet on his return to the side against Chesterfield.

Seven shut-outs have come for the former Cardiff and Huddersfield man across two seasons and 16 appearances for Athletic.

It is no coincidence that Gerrard’s arrival has seen the gap from safety shrink from eight points to only one, with Fleetwood’s draw at Swindon keeping Athletic a point away from stepping out of the bottom-four.

And in stressing that honesty is the best policy both on and off the pitch, the powerful defensive leader respects Sheridan as a rare breed of boss who tells it exactly how it is.

“The manager is as honest as the day is long,” said Gerrard. “I really like that. I have played for enough people who say one thing to your face and another behind your back, but with the gaffer, he says it exactly how it is and won’t pull any punches. That’s how I like to deal with people.

“Go through the whole of the Football League and the vast majority of players would say they want honesty. Very few deliver on that, but the manager does.”

Gerrard is set to play against Swindon at SportsDirect.com Park tomorrow (7.45pm) as Athletic aim for back-to-back home wins. He promises he won’t spare harsh words if he are needed.

“That’s what I was asked to do,” Gerrard added. “The manager said there is only so much he can do from the sidelines, so it is down to the players as individuals to take it on the chin if a rollicking needs to be taken.

“It is only a job at the end of the day. If you start getting a huff on like a big baby then you are in the wrong job. “I was to try to keep us up and to tighten up the back four. I think I have done that and we are only in the relegation zone now on goal difference. It’s a big step towards where we need to be.”

Chesterfield’s 4-2 home win over Port Vale on Saturday eased their relegation worries a little and Blackpool won 2-0 over Southend, but Fleetwood and Doncaster both gave up leads to draw at Swindon and Rochdale respectively.

On the injuries front, Aaron Amadi-Holloway suffered damage to ankle ligaments in the Chesterfield game and is likely to be out for two to three weeks.

The damage to Timmy Thiele's shoulder is not as severe as was first feared and he could still play a part in Athletic's run-in.