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Post by markscfc72 on Feb 2, 2008 9:43:35 GMT
Carl Dickinson is welcoming the probable return of Mama Sidibe against Cardiff this weekend - even though it could cost him his own place in Stoke's starting line-up.
Dickinson has done nothing to warrant a confinement to barracks, but Sidibe's restoration to the starting 11 would mean a reshuffle demanding a fall guy.
That fall guy has frequently been the unfortunate Dickinson, of course, but that has no bearing on how he views the probability of Sidibe's call to arms.
"Whatever team the gaffer picks, that's his decision," says the philosophical 20-year-old.
"Mama has been really good for us by giving us that different option of his height.
"Hopefully I'll still be playing, we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
"Ric (Fuller) likes the ball into his feet and Cressy (Richard Cresswell) will always run into the channels for you.
"But you know Mama will win balls into the air nine times out of 10.
"He's been a really big player for us, giving 110 per cent and doing so much for the team.
"Obviously he hasn't scored many goals (he's still looking for his first of the season), but the work he does for the team is unbelievable. People don't realise that.
"There's been times in recent games when he's been away that we could have used Mama at set pieces or when we've had to play the ball long."
Sidibe's return to these shores came about after Mali failed to last beyond the group stages of the African Cup of Nations in Ghana following Tuesday's 3-0 defeat by Ivory Coast.
Sidibe himself was a second-half substitute in the first and third games, so should return pretty fresh and staled only by the travelling from Africa via Paris.
"We were hoping Mama would do well over there," adds Dickinson. "The lads were looking out for him, but obviously it didn't go as well as I'm sure he would have wanted in the end."
Sidibe returns to a dressing room hardly resplendent with new signings during his two-week absence, but still generating the kind of healthy atmosphere in which the likes of Dickinson are clearly thriving. "This is the best set of lads we've had in a long time," he says. "Andy Griffin has settled straight back in and we all know he can play either side at full-back.
"He's a really good lad to have around the dressing room, while on the field he has the experience and cool head to know when to step on it or when to calm things. He's also a bit of a prankster and you need that kind of thing around the place for morale.
"It's the mickey-taking kind of thing, but it's always done in a funny way, never as an insult to anyone."
Dickinson kindly described one of the more popular pranks to regularly befall him and his team-mates, but let's suffice to say that Griff puts his (allegedly) ample-sized hooter to effective use.
Stoke tackle a Cardiff outfit running into promotion-winning form and earning Dave Jones the January manager-of-the-month award after five wins and two draws in their last seven league outings.
Dickinson was but a nipper when Stoke were locked with Cardiff in those now legendary play-off tussles in May 2002 having moved to the Britannia barely a month earlier.
"I remember watching the play-off final against Brentford on the TV," he says. "As player, we know about the rivalry between the two clubs over the years and also how much it means to the fans.
"Cardiff will be a tough game, but we have got the right mentality to win the game.
"We've got to make sure we're ready for anything they bring to us and get it on with them. We were a bit gutted to lose at Charlton on Tuesday, but we will be back and raring to go against Cardiff.
"It was a little bit of a blip against Charlton, but the lads aren't worrying about that.
"You never know what can happen in this league because it's so tight. Preston beating West Brom this week just shows that the bottom can beat the top on any given day.
"It's good because it puts more pressure on you to perform well.
"We were quite lucky with other results on Tuesday and now the job is to get up there in the top three by beating Cardiff this weekend."
And he lacks no confidence when it comes to outlining the target ahead over the last 17 league games. "We want to be up there and get automatic promotion," he confidently asserts. "I don't think many teams would want to play us in the play-offs.
"But automatic promotion is the main thing for us."
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