Alim Ozturk hopes to show Sunderland fans the real him after his surprise recall this Easter.

The Turkish defender’s Black Cats’ career was resurrected when he was chosen to face Doncaster Rovers on Good Friday, and he is well placed to keep his spot for Monday’s trip to Peterborough United.

Jack Ross responded to the 5-4 home defeat to Coventry City by dropping both central defenders and handing Ozturk only his third league start for the club. The previous one came on September 1.

Since his last League One appearance, as a substitute at Portsmouth on December 22, his only first-team football came in two Football League Trophy run-outs against under-21 sides.

Ozturk kicked off this season’s opening match but the arrival of Jack Baldwin, then Jimmy Dunne, and return to fitness of Tom Flanagan – not to mention his erratic defending – pushed him down the pecking order.

“After a period like that, you have to train well and keep as fit as possible,” said Ozturk. “I trained very hard every day, so I can show the people what I can do.

“That was not me at the start of the season, I was not really fit. I feel really good now.

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“I know it was not the ideal start for me at this club, so I want to show the people who I am.

“I feel good, I feel fit. (I suffered) cramp at the end (in both calves) but I think this is normal after a while out.

“It was really enjoyable. My last game was January, a long time ago. I played the Checkatrade Trophy games but that was about once a month.

“I’ve tried to keep as fit as possible so when the chance came, I was ready for it. It finally came and I think I did well. I’m very happy about that.

“The guys who played before me – Tom Flanagan, Jack Baldwin, Glenn Loovens before as well – I think they did really well. A game like (Coventry) can happen, of course you don’t want it to, but it can.

“Overall they’ve done really well, so I just had to wait for my chance.”

Ross worked with Ozturk when he coached Heart of Midlothian, where the now-26-year-old spent two-and-a-half seasons from 2014, and spoke warmly of his trust in the defender’s character after the game.

Ozturk was an ever-present in the Football League Trophy until Wembley came into view, but even being dropped for the semi-final and final has not caused him to sulk.

“The manager knows me as a person. I will never give up,” said Ozturk.

“It was not a great start for me (as a Sunderland player), everyone knows that and I know that myself.

“I wanted to pay him back for that confidence in me.

League One run-in

Lynden Gooch of Sunderland and Tom Naylor of Portsmouth clash

Remaining League One fixtures

1 Luton Town 91pts

Oxford (h, May 4).

2 Barnsley 91pts

Bristol Rovers (a, May 4).

3 Portsmouth 87pts

Peterborough (h, April 30), Accrington (h, May 4).

4 Sunderland 85pts

Fleetwood (a, April 30), Southend (a, May 4).

5 Charlton Athletic 85pts

Rochdale (h, May 4).

“The manager showed us the XI before training on Thursday, so that was nice for me to prepare myself.

“As a defender, first of all, it’s about keeping a clean sheet. It’s like scoring a goal as a striker.

“We defended really well (against Doncaster), it was compact. We said to each other before the game, ‘Let them have the ball at the back, that’s not important, it’s important when they get closer to goal.’ The shape then was really good and we defended well.

“You can see the stadium, the training ground everything, it’s really good. It’s amazing to play for this club. In the summer when I heard that I could come here, I didn’t even think about it.

“So it’s time to show who I really am now.”

Portsmouth could move above Sunderland before kick-off on Monday, but it will require them to take points off a play-off-chasing Coventry who have taken 25 from a possible 39 since the transfer window closed. The other automatic promotion contenders play at 3pm, except leaders Luton Town.

The Black Cats are two points behind second-placed Barnsley with a game in hand.