Adam Hammill believes he has improved during his four months on loan from Liverpool - despite starting only TWO matches.

Now he is hoping to retain his place in Saints' starting line up for the first time since arriving from Anfield in August.

Hammill was Saints' main attacking threat at Ipswich after replacing the injured Nathan Dyer on Tuesday.

Dyer has returned to training after recovering from his calf injury so is back in contention for tomorrow's trip to Leicester.

But Hammill's sparkling performance on the left flank on Tuesday means he will surely keep his place at the Walkers Stadium.

Hammill, who has also made six appearances as a substitute, said: "My Saints career has been a big learning curve for me, but it was a great confidence booster to get 90 minutes under my belt again.

"I've had to learn to deal with not starting many games because if I make it one day at Liverpool I'll have to get used to squad rotation.

"You have to be able to deal with it whether you're playing or not, it's part and parcel of football.

"I don't really need to work on going forward because I'll always have that creativity, but I've learned about the defensive side of the game by working that bit harder at getting back into position.

"Jason Dodd's helped me a lot. He's taught me about the right time to get forward and I've worked hard in training and done a bit extra with the weights. It's paid off.

"The gaffer showed a lot of confidence in me by throwing me in against Ipswich and now I just want to get a run of games under my belt.

"With that will come confidence and match fitness - and the cream always rises to the top."

Full story: see today's Daily Echo.