TOBY Savin believes he has benefited from the competition provided by Chelsea loanee Nathan Baxter.

Savin is back in the side after Baxter sustained what appears to be a season-ending shoulder injury, the pair having shared the gloves for Stanley this season.

It is now six consecutive starts for 20-year-old Savin who admits he found it hard to replicate his early season form when first replacing the injured Baxter at the start of the month.

Savin won plaudits for his performances earlier in the season, but it was Baxter who had the gloves in the early part of 2021 before injury ended his campaign. And Savin feels the battle between the pair has been a positive one.

He said: “It’s hard as a goalkeeper as when you make a mistake, it usually results in a goal but I have to learn from that.

“I enjoyed the start of the season but then I respected the manager’s decision when Nathan came in.

“I think that made me realise that you can never take your foot off the gas, you have always to give 100 per cent and you have to keep improving.

“Nathan coming in helped me. He’s only 22 but he has a lot of games under his belt and a lot of experience and he pushed me in training and I like to think I pushed him.”

The young ‘keeper had played just twice for the Reds prior to this season, but has worked closely with the club’s coaching staff in a bid to improve his game.

“Goalkeeping is a very technical position and it’s hard to come back in when you haven’t played many games in between but I feel like I have improved every game,” Savin told the club website.

“It can be a very lonely position, any mistake is a goal and you do feel it but it makes you a better player if you learn from the mistakes.

“I tend to talk to goalkeeping coaches Tony (Warner) and Lewis (Stewart) after games about my performance and then I try and go home and switch off as I try not to focus on the last game and look to the next game.

“I don’t read social media as, while it’s nice when you are doing well, it’s a harsh place when you are not.”

Stanley had lost their previous three games prior to a weekend win over Wigan Athletic which was followed by a week break before the trip to Peterborough.

And Savin believes it was his best performance since coming back into the side. “It was my best game since I came back, I felt comfortable, I feel like I have found my feet and hopefully I can carry that on for the rest of the season,” he explained.

“I am lucky here, not many goalkeepers my age are playing regularly at such a high level and I am grateful for the opportunity. At my age what you need is game-time and thankfully I have the opportunity to get it and I am ready to grasp it with both hands.”