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As the transfer deadline approached last summer, Ciaran Clark spoke with Steve Bruce about his prospects at Newcastle United.

Bruce was keen to assess the options in his squad and did not want to the lose the defender, who is a well-liked professional in that dressing room.

The Irishman vowed to stay positive and to keep working hard behind the scenes so that he would be ready when he was eventually called upon.

Given how Paul Dummett, Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schar made up Newcastle's starting back three for the first six league games of the season, Clark has had to be patient to get a run in the team.

But the 30-year-old was among those who Bruce turned to following Newcastle's 5-0 defeat at Leicester last month.

Wing-back Jetro Willems missed that humiliating display through injury so Bruce shifted to a back four at the King Power Stadium, with Paul Dummett moving out to left-back.

It did not work and Bruce reverted to three at the back for the visit of Manchester United when Matty Longstaff naturally grabbed the headlines that evening after firing his side to a 1-0 win on his Premier League debut.

The youngster was one of five changes Bruce made against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side. Willems returned after recovering from a knee injury; DeAndre Yedlin was fit to start following groin surgery last summer; Allan Saint-Maximin felt ready to play from the off after overcoming his hamstring issues; and Clark made his first league start since January.

Clark's performance at the back went under the radar a little bit but you would not have known the defender had made just one appearance under Bruce, against Leicester in the Carabao Cup, before his recall.

It was the simple things like making a crucial headed clearance to stop a man in red getting on the end of Ashley Young's teasing cross midway through the first half for example.

The decision to recall the centre-back paid off and Bruce, unsurprisingly, kept faith with the same starting line-up at Chelsea.

"I just thought, Ciaran, he trains every day and works hard at it," the Newcastle head coach told reporters ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge.

"And if I was going to leave Dummy out, and make that decision, then I thought Ciaran was best equipped because he’s naturally left-sided and gives the team a better balance. That was important, that’s why he got the nod."

Clark put in another assured showing at the back at Stamford Bridge and made a couple of big interventions when Newcastle were up against it in the second half.

On 53 minutes, Clark made a crucial sliding block as Callum Hudson-Odoi was about to pull the trigger after the Chelsea wonderkid skipped past a number of Newcastle players

Three minutes later, Clark cut out Willian's cutback following a slick team move from the hosts - earning a high five from Martin Dubravka and a pat on the back from Sean Longstaff.

To sum up the team spirit in the camp right now, when Dubravka went on to deny substitute Christian Pulisic from point-blank range, Clark returned the favour, rushing to applaud the goalkeeper alongside skipper Jamaal Lascelles.

While Newcastle ultimately lost the game - Marcos Alonso breaking the deadlock midway through the second half - Clark is among those who embodies the steely resilience this group have shown since that Leicester debacle.

That quality is going to be so important this season and these players need to continue to push each other with 12 huge games to come in the 66 days between hosting Wolves on Sunday and welcoming Leicester to St James' Park on New Year's Day.

As much as Matty Longstaff's promotion has sent the right message - the youngster is among the club's best trainers, often covering the most distance - Clark's return to the fold has proved to Newcastle's fringe players that they will get their chance.

The defender has certainly taken it.