JAK McCourt is hoping a more consistent run in the Swindon Town midfield will help him show what he is capable of as Richie Wellens’ men aim to rescue a potentially stagnant season.

The 23-year-old has only played in 17 of Town’s 32 fixtures this season as the Leicester-born midfielder has struggled to cement a place in either Wellens or former boss Phil Brown’s starting XI.

A dislocated shoulder as well as the improved performances of James Dunne have limited McCourt to just 10 starts this season, while consecutive outings have been few and far between.

McCourt was brought in on a free transfer during the summer by Brown, but has failed to make the kind of impact many had expected – instead struggling to shake off any rustiness when called upon by either of Town’s managers.

The former Chesterfield man admits Town fans did not witness his finest performance in the 2-0 loss to Exeter City in League Two on New Year’s Day, but remains optimistic he can help turn the team’s fortunes around if he is afforded the opportunity to feature more often.

He said: “I want to get a run of games going and start showing people what I can do and take it from there.

“It’s up to the manager and his staff with regards to the team that he picks, but hopefully I can stay in there.”

McCourt is aware that results have not been up to scratch recently, however, the Town midfielder is adamant performances are much-improved under Wellens.

The midfielder – whose contract runs out in the summer – believes everyone must take on greater responsibility during the game if Town are to reverse their fortunes.

“We’re not happy about the Exeter result, however, I thought in the three games before that, we played some good stuff,” said McCourt.

“We battled hard and put our bodies on the line and we did that in patches on Tuesday as well.

“It’s about that first goal, though. We conceded a sloppy goal and we need to move on.

“You can’t point your fingers at anyone. You can look at anyone on the pitch against Exeter – centre-halves, midfields, strikers – everyone has their chance in a game.

“It’s about the individual performing. I had a chance in the game and I need to do better.

“And when we make that final ball, we need to make sure that someone is on the end of it.”

Town travel to Moss Rose on Saturday to face Sol Campbell’s Macclesfield Town, having only scored two goals in their last five games.

While Macclesfield have seen something of a mini-revival under the ex-England international, they are still languishing in 23rd in the table and have only won two of their previous six.

McCourt has warned against complacency from his team-mates, but is confident boss Wellens has formulated a plan that will help end Swindon’s tough recent run in Cheshire.

He said: “Every game is a massive test in this league, it really doesn’t matter who you are playing against.

“Everyone has threats in their own different ways.

“We’ve looked back at the Exeter game and are now looking at Macclesfield and working on the elements of the game that they are good at and what we can exploit.”