Barely two weeks ago, Michael Nelson was contemplating whether it was worth staying at Scunthorpe United.

Dropped from the team due to a loss of form and offered the chance to play elsewhere, the immediate future was looking bleak.

Fast forward a fortnight and the defender has been one of the busiest Iron men on the pitch, earning high praise from manager Alan Knill in the process.

Nelson however, insists he is simply doing his job.

Nothing has changed in that respect, as far as the 31-year-old is concerned. There's no point to prove and no reason to adapt his game.

"I haven't changed anything from when I came in at the end of January, beginning of February," said Nelson, who was thrown back into action against Yeovil Town when Paul Reid was forced off with a broken nose.

"I've always trained the same, I never try harder in games – I always try as hard as I can – so I haven't got a point to prove to anyone.

"I just go out and play my football. If people like the way I play then I'll stay in the team, if people don't, then I won't.

"But I haven't got a point to prove to anyone.

"That's the way football is at the minute – it's a squad game.

"Everywhere you look around, everywhere has got four centre-halves and cover in every position so everyone knows that if they don't perform, there's a really good chance you could be out the team.

"That's what the manager is trying to build here. He's trying to get competition in every single department so there's no complacency.

"Hopefully that's what's driving us on in the last two or three weeks and getting us the results.

"The last thing you want is to know that regardless of how you play, you're going to play next week because there's no-one else who can step in.

"You don't try less but subconsciously you might just be a little bit more relaxed, not because you're thinking about it, just because that's the situation.

"It's nice to have people on your shoulder pushing you and always trying to get your shirt off your back. You know you've got to perform and do well because one little mistake can cost you.

"I was quite pleased with the way I did last week. And if there was ever a game where you're going to be tested defensively, it was Stevenage.

"I'm reasonably pleased with how I've done, we'll have to see if it's enough to stay in the team and carry on. Hopefully it will be but ultimately it's down to the manager."

Nelson admits the temptation was there when the offer of a loan move came along.

A glaring error which proved costly against Colchester, resulted in him being dropped.

But the former Norwich centre-back was determined not to make any rash decisions.

"I was ready to leave and had the opportunity, I just didn't think it was right," he said.

"I'd only been out the team a matter of a week or 10 days.

"I had started the previous nine games, so it wasn't a case of me being a Shane Duffy or Oli Norwood, a young lad going out to play games and get experience.

"It's not that. I had started nine games, so I wasn't short on match practice.

"For me personally, I didn't feel it was the right time to go out.

"You are tempted when you know you are made available. Sometimes you think you're not wanted, so you think, why stay if you're not wanted; move on and go to somewhere that wants you.

"That's how you feel sometimes.

"But then sometimes you think, why be pushed out; why go out. Why not just stay and prove people wrong.

"It wasn't a case of me needing to go out and get games under my belt. I knew I was fit enough, knew I'd played enough games.

"It was a decision I had to make and I took time to make it. It wasn't a straight 'no' and I took a couple of days to think about it and talk to different people and get different people's opinions.

"And ultimately I decided to stay.

"I just didn't feel the time was right. And the way things have worked out, the time wasn't right for me, and as it worked out, it wasn't right for the club either with what happened to Reidy.

"We probably wouldn't have had a centre-half on the bench and might not have had a fit centre-half to play on Saturday, so it's worked out that it wasn't really good for both parties."

Eager to put that all behind him, Nelson is now fully focused on helping the Iron move forward.

Today's clash with Leyton Orient sees the team rooted to the bottom of the table visit Glanford Park.

There will though, be no resting on their laurels in the Scunthorpe camp.

"You can never be happy unless you're top of the table, really," said Nelson.

"We're happier than we were two weeks ago.

"I think we could only have moved up one place after Saturday's win, the way the points were.

"If you look at it now, we've probably reined a couple in, so if we keep the run going, another three points next week probably takes us up a few more.

"It's all about just climbing the table, trying to catch whoever's ahead of you, get above them and then look at the next one. That's all it is.

"Confidence was never really low, but it certainly lifts the mood a bit when you get three points on a Saturday. It makes next week easier in training.

"As long as you're winning, things tend to come a little bit easier, training becomes a little bit more fun.

"Confidence is probably a little bit better, but it was never low; we were never down in the dumps."