Paul McCone prepared for a Telford battle

The 25-year-old centre-half, who has made nine league appearances since returning from a severe knee injury, was taken off at the interval of the 1-1 draw with Alfreton Town on Boxing Day.

He gave away a penalty in the 13th minute, which was duly converted by Craig Westcarr, and was substituted for Elliot Hodge as the Bucks went from a 5-3-2 formation to a 4-3-3 – and it worked as Bradley Reid equalised.

McCone had struggled with illness leading up to the game and when asked if that affected him, he said: "A little bit to be fair, but it was more to do with the shape of the team.

"We proved that in the second half as we brought Elliot on, who is an out-and-out winger, and he was our outlet.

"We didn't have an outlet in the first half and that's what we needed, so the change in formation helped us get the ball to him to run at their defence.

"We managed to get the equaliser but unfortunately we just couldn't get the winner at the end."

In the second half of the game, Ben Bailey and skipper Luca Havern were partnered in central defence.

Those two and McCone have played a huge part in the Bucks' good defensive record this season – keeping eight clean sheets and conceding 24 goals from 22 games.

McCone knows he has a battle on his hands to remain in the side and said: "You have to perform at your best every week else there will be someone just as good coming in and taking your place – it is good and keeps us all three of us on our toes."

Following Monday's game, Telford remain 17th in the table.

They will go up against Alfreton again on New Year's Day, this time at the Impact Arena, and both teams will be eager to pick up three points as the Reds are 18th and three points above the drop zone.

McCone believes a more attacking set-up will benefit Telford on Sunday while on the game just gone, he added: "You could see the three at the back was turning into a five and that was not what we needed against a team like Alfreton.

"We were hitting balls forward and playing into their hands a little bit. We needed a more attacking set-up and that's what we had in the second half.

"It was a big game for us, given were we both are in the table, and of course we wanted the win but we will take the point and build on it going into the game at their place."