MIDFIELDER Yan Klukowski wants to establish himself as a leading light for Newport County AFC this season after enduring a frustrating first campaign at Rodney Parade.

The former Forest Green Rovers star made 40 appearances under Justin Edinburgh and Jimmy Dack in 2014/15 but only 26 were starts.

And Klukowski was often played out of position in defence or wide midfield, which restricted his goal tally to six.

But the 28-year-old is now one of the senior players in Terry Butcher’s youthful squad and he’s determined to nail down a central midfield berth in the new look side.

“Until Matty Taylor signed I was the oldest in the squad and I’ve never really had that before so I’m playing a bit of a different role in the changing room,” said Klukowski after Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Queens Park Rangers.

“And on the pitch I played a bit of a deeper role and with the personnel we have in the squad it looks like that could be my role this year.

“I still believe I will get forward and score some goals for this team but we’ve got a lot of attacking pace and threat in that area of the field.

“I think I played enough games last season; it just wasn’t in my natural position,” he added.

“We had injuries to the two wide players and I was probably a victim of being quite versatile.

“I got chucked out left wing-back, right wing-back, left of a 4-4-2, sometimes centre midfield and it was difficult to get that rhythm and that consistency.

“But when I did play in the middle I think I did perform very well and I did score goals.

“I will be looking to establish myself as a main starter this season and being one of the older heads a lot of the younger boys should be looking up to me and I should be leading by example on the pitch.”

Klukowski hailed the impact that former England captain Butcher has had on the club this summer and says the players are starting to respond to what he wants.

“He’s a legend; he has that aura about him around the training ground and when he talks people listen,” he said.

“He’s very honest and straightforward in telling people what he wants and if people take on the information and perform on the pitch then we’re in with a chance.

“We’re still trying to gel as a side and trying to get used to how each other play but the more we train and the more games we play we are developing that understanding between everyone.

“And when we find a shape that works and players start understanding their roles on the pitch performances and results will build from that.”

County conclude their pre-season programme at Weston-super-Mare tomorrow night (kick-off 7.30pm).