Mo Sagaf says he will play anywhere if it means keeping his place in the Carlisle United team.

The midfielder has made good progress since emerging in Steven Pressley’s side and caught the eye again at Newport.

Sagaf, who joined after a summer trial, has held onto his preferred central midfield position in Carlisle’s last two games.

That has come after he has shown versatility to feature on the left of an attacking three and in a right-sided wing-back role.

His combative efforts in the centre, though, impressed onlookers at Rodney Parade, Blues manager Pressley included, and Sagaf could get another chance in the centre against Crewe this weekend.

But the 21-year-old insisted: “Wherever the gaffer puts you, you have to play. It’s part of football.

“When I get minutes, I don’t really mind where the gaffer puts me - right-back, left-back, I will do a job, as long as I get to play and help the team out.”

The former Braintree prospect says he is learning a lot about first-team life at this level after stepping up to United in the summer.

He says Pressley is helping to develop his all-round game. Sagaf said: “The manager that we have is a very tactical manager, so I learn a lot from him.

“He is improving parts of my game tactical-wise: where to be, where not to be. The longer I play the more I learn from him.

“Football is all about confidence. If you have confidence and self-belief, you can show a lot in the game.”

Sagaf has made five starts and four sub appearances so far and was part of a three-man midfield in Carlisle’s last game alongside Mike Jones and Jack Bridge.

Stefan Scougall’s imminent return will increase competition for a place in that position while Canice Carroll is also hoping to force his way back into the side.

Sagaf, meanwhile, says United must not dwell on the disappointment of their last-gasp defeat in Newport as they now look ahead to fourth-placed Crewe’s visit.

“There’s really nothing much to say other than we have to start again and prepare for our next game,” he said.

“It was unfortunate about the result, unlucky in the last minute, but it happens sometimes.

“That’s the beauty of the game. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way and sometimes it does. We could have beaten them, we had more chances than them, but then one shot, one goal – it’s heartbreaking, but it’s part of football.

“You just have to keep your head up and see how it goes for the next game. There were a lot of positives there. We worked hard, defended and attacked as a unit, we knew when to hit it long and when to play.

“There’s a long way to go in the season so hopefully that will help us pick up more points. We need to take it as a lesson for the next game.”

Sagaf believes showing a strong mentality will be vital against Crewe, who are a point from the top.

He said: “To be honest we can beat any team in the league. It comes down to the 90 minutes and who wants it more. If they want it more than us there is a chance of them beating us.

“They can be top three, whatever, it doesn’t matter. It’s about what we do on the pitch.”