George McCartney has been singled out for praise by Alan Curbishley as the defender looks to continue his unique run of appearing in every league and cup game this season.
Sunday's trip to Manchester City promises to be the Northern Ireland left-back's 28th consecutive outing and he has been a consistent performer in each one - although a one-game suspension will be due if he is cautioned again before 29 February. "He has been a bit of an unsung hero in some respects," said the manager. "He plays every week, touch wood, and just gets on with it.
"He is one of those players that just gets through the game, has his shower, goes home and comes back in the next morning. He decided to go back to play for Northern Ireland and resurrect his international career - he is happy with life at the moment. He is probably someone that goes unrecognised a little bit."
For his part, the unassuming No3 would rather focus on the team's fortunes than his own achievements this season - and he expects the side to bounce back this weekend from the disappointment of losing 1-0 at City in the FA Cup on Wednesday. "We won't approach the game any differently," he told WHUTV. "We were probably the better team.
"Come Sunday hopefully we can take one or two of our chances and it will be a better outcome. We were looking to have a good run in the FA Cup but it wasn't to be this year. We can just concentrate on the league - we are back in Manchester on Sunday and looking for revenge."