Scott Malone says he's determined to hold on to his Premier League dream and stay in the top flight with Huddersfield Town.
Town left back Malone missed out on promotion last season when Fulham lost to Reading in the Championship play-off semi-finals.
And the defender thought his Premier League dream was over until Town beat Reading at Wembley and paid Fulham £3.5m to give him a shot at top-flight football.
Malone insists he isn't about to let that dream-turned-reality go lightly and said: “I thought it was over when we lost to Reading in the play-offs last year when I was at Fulham.
“It was probably the lowest point in my career so far, playing 49 games and then to realise that's it, you now have to do it all over again.
"I am thankful that Huddersfield came to get me and that they thought I could play at this level. I did achieve my dream but not in the way I thought I would have.
"I have worked so hard to get here in my career over the last six to seven years, I have played in every league at all levels of the game, and I have done it the hard way."
Town next play on New Year’s Day away to Leicester City and Malone admits that the Foxes' fairy tale season of two years ago is not something he thinks about with Town - it is only Premier League survival.
He said: "We are four unbeaten now and are going there with massive confidence, we have to play a bit better with the ball, but if we take that fighting spirit there I don't see why we can't get a good result.
"I just think that Leicester winning the league is the standard that has been set. I don't think anyone takes it into their own dream and looks back at Leicester and thinks we can do that. Every club has their own agenda and every player thinks about things differently.
"I think the main thing is to stay in this league and that would be a fantastic achievement.
“I think we have shown in most of the games so far that we can compete and going forward should be no different."
The 26-year-old himself has been competing for the left back spot at Town against German defender Chris Lowe, and Malone says that the intense rivalry between them means he is having to perform at his highest possible standard in both matches and in training.
He said: "It has been a bit stop-start this season for me so far. Obviously I’m having to battle away with Chris for one spot. When you do get the chance to play you have to impress on the field.
"We get on well. There is respect between us both and whoever plays has earned their place that week."
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It was Malone that got the nod in the goalless draw against Burnley on Saturday, and - whilst he was disappointed Town couldn't do more with the ball - overall he was happy to share the points.
Malone said on the game against the Clarets: "I thought they were better than us with the ball to be honest. At the end of the day it’s a point and that's how we have to see it.
"We have moved onto 24 points now so I think we can be happy with that total. I felt we stood toe to toe with Burnley which was good to see.
"I think overall we are happy with the points so far over the Christmas period. I don't know exactly what we need to get to, somewhere in the mid thirties sounds about right and we are well on the way to that already."
