THOUGH his name goes down on the team-sheet as a defender, teenage full-back Ben Gordon is hoping to give Scunthorpe United a new attacking edge in his home debut tonight.

The Chelsea youngster, whose swashbuckling style is compared to that of his club colleague Ashley Cole, won't be fazed by taking on the big guns of Nottingham Forest.

And he could hold the key for the Iron as they try again to halt that miserable home record which sees them without a win at Glanford Park for more than five and a half months.

There were hopeful signs of a recovery from Scunthorpe at Cardiff, where they were only beaten by an 85th minute goal.

And that's what they will be keen to build on tonight.

"That was my first taste of Championship football and I enjoyed it – though not the result," Gordon declared.

"The tempo of the game was a lot quicker than in Scotland.

"It is more physical in the Scottish Premier League.

"But having spent four months up there, on loan at Kilmarnock, it will definitely benefit me here at Championship level. It was a good learning curve for me."

Gordon is the last of eight new faces drafted in by United since the beginning of January.

And while Baraclough looks for a ninth to balance his midfield on the left hand side, the 19-year-old might just come up with the answer.

"Getting forward is a strength of my game," Gordon confessed.

"Being at Chelsea I do base my game on Ashley Cole, who is one of the best left-backs in the world.

"Defending is my main priority, but I do like to bomb forward when I can.

"The gaffer here has been encouraging me to do that, but only when the time is right, when we have good possession – I do not want to leave gaps behind me."

And Gordon has also been encouraged himself by what he has seen so far of his new Scunthorpe team-mates.

"Not being the only new face in the squad has helped me settle in quickly," he said.

"Training last week was good and I thought we showed the strength of the squad last Saturday, at Cardiff, to keep out one of the best teams in the league for 85 minutes.

"We were a bit unlucky with the goal we conceded.

"It was a performance which we can hopefully build on for the rest of the season.

"Tonight will be another tough game.

"But these are the sort you want to play in, to test yourself against the top teams and the top players.

"The onus will be on us more to push forward.

"Hopefully I will be able to help us do that and create some chances.

"I am looking forward to my home debut. It's the first of what are going to be three big home games for us."

The club have loaned Paris Cowan-Hall to Rushden for a month, while Abdisalam Ibrahim has extended his stay at the Iron until the end of the season.