Ipswich Town captain Luke Chambers no longer feels like he is just filling in at right-back.

The 28-year-old has played at centre-back for most of his career, and was at the heart of the back four when the Blues kept 14 clean sheets in the final 33 games of the 2012/13 campaign as Mick McCarthy’s men battled their way clear of the relegation zone.

He has played the vast majority of this season at right-back though after McCarthy shuffled his back four to accommodate new signing Christophe Berra, just five league games in.

The skipper has said before that ‘it’s no secret that I feel that centre-back is my best position’, but instead of moaning has got his head down and worked hard on improving himself as a full-back.

“I’m not really filling in anymore am I?” said the former Nottingham Forest defender. “I feel I’m doing a good enough job. If I wasn’t I wouldn’t be in the team.

“As long as the manager and my team-mates are happy with me then I’m happy. I feel like I am getting stronger there week-in, week-out. I’ve just kept one of the best wingers in the league quiet in (Leicester’s) Lloyd Dyer. Although we got beat 3-0 he didn’t get too much and ended up going off.”

Town have got a specialist right-back in the form of Middlesbrough loanee Frazer Richardson, but the 31-year-old – out-of-contract in the summer – has made just one late substitute appearance in the five games he has been available for.

Young right-backs Elliott Hewitt and Freddie Veseli remain out on loan at Gillingham and Bury respectively.

“Chambo is great, he’s terrific,” said McCarthy.

“I said to both Elliott and Freddie that those two should have been battling it out for the right-back slot this season, but unfortunately for them Chambo has been better.

“I think it’s been a real testimony to him and his character that he’s gone and played there when he was playing so well at centre-back. As soon as I changed it, he will have been thinking ‘does that put my position under threat?’ Well, he’s under no threat because he’s been great.”