BILLY Clarke has put his mind to rest after starting his first game for three months.

Last season’s top scorer came through 70 minutes of action unscathed in City’s FA Cup draw with Aldershot.

Clarke stepped it up after coming on as a late sub in the previous games against Millwall and Blackpool.

After missing the previous ten weeks with a knee injury, the striker admits he is regaining confidence in his body again.

Clarke said: “It’s good to be playing again. I’ve been waiting a long time.

“The reception I got from the fans when I came on at Valley Parade last week was great. I really appreciated that.

“I was still a bit tentative coming on at first. You go into tackles and it’s in the back of your head a little bit (what might happen).

“But thankfully I’ve been fine. Game time will gradually help ease any doubts out of your thinking.”

Clarke, who scored in the Shrewsbury game when he got injured in August, nearly had a comeback goal at the EBB Stadium. He was denied by Phil Smith’s fine save after City’s best chance of the match.

Phil Parkinson said: “Billy was always going to be off with a little bit of his sharpness because it was his first start for a long period. But I thought he did really well.

“He twisted and turned a couple of times in the box and you expected to see the net bulge. But that will come when he gets sharper.”

Clarke has no doubts on that front and is happy to re-join a side who are unbeaten in six in League One. Having recently a signed a new deal keeping him at Valley Parade until 2018, he is hungry to play a full part in their push up the table.

He added: “I’d been straight line running for two weeks before I even started training again so my fitness was there. It’s just a case of getting the sharpness back but that’s coming with each game.

“Even in training, I can feel that everything is becoming a bit more natural again.

“It’s a good time to be involved. There is a real buzz around the club and it feels a lot better than it did before the last six weeks.

“Coming back into a team with good momentum and form is always easier. But I still want to be playing every game.”