ASWAD Thomas describes himself as 'the best left-back playing outside the Football League' – and it's becoming hard to disagree.
Following his summer arrival, the Grimsby Town full-back has been a key part of the meanest defence in the Blue Square Bet Premier.
And his marauding runs forward have also caught the eye of England C boss Paul Fairclough, who handed Thomas his first cap against Belgium Under-23s.
As a result, his tongue-in-cheek description of himself on Twitter is looking more apt by the game.
"I put the tag of 'best left-back outside the Football League' on my Twitter page when I was at Braintree – it was just a bit of banter at the time," said Thomas who returned to Town's squad for Saturday's defeat to Macclesfield, following an ankle injury.
"It's not arrogance. You've got to believe in yourself and I go out every game with that in my mind, believing that I am the best left-back outside the Football League.
"It's about having confidence in yourself and I try to put in the performance to live up to that tag, which can only be good for me and Grimsby Town.
"We've got the best defensive record in the league and, as a defender, I take a lot of pride that I've played my part in that."
After being released by his boyhood club Charlton, the 23-year-old has had to battle to get back into full-time football, through spells at Braintree Town and Woking.
He added: "I started off at Charlton – things didn't go for me there and it was disappointing.
"But I've learnt a lot along the way and I've worked hard to get back into full-time football.
"Now it's up to me to grab the opportunity that I've been given, with both hands."
"I'm enjoying being full-time again. It is a different lifestyle to what I was used to at Braintree and Woking, where I was only training in the evening and eating at silly o'clock at night.
"At those clubs, training wasn't very long because the sessions had to be in the evening, so with respect to them, we were limited as to what we could do.
"With Grimsby, I'm back in that pro environment, training every day, eating at reasonable times, getting good rest and preparing for games in the right way."
Thomas, pictured, is also quick to pay tribute to Town joint managers Rob Scott and Paul Hurst for his impressive form this campaign.
"I'm doing things properly and you really get looked after – they are second to none here," he said.
"The gaffers have brought me in and told me what they expect of me. And, from working with me on the training ground every day, they are really helping me in terms of positions and how I can best benefit the team.
"Because they both played in defence, I think it is definitely helping me."
