Remaining ninth in the table after a battling performance against Sunderland on Saturday afternoon, the midfielder is hoping to contribute as much as he can as he returns to the team following an injury lay-off.

Mpanzu played just over 20 minutes upon his return to the matchday squad and assessed the performance of himself and the team during his post-match press conference.

“They did come out in the second half. We tried to defend as much as we could, they scored a goal and we had a good reaction after.

"We had a good first half, we created a lot of chances. Alfie hit the post and then Carlton scored, as well as other bits and pieces. At the end of the day, we feel like it’s two points dropped but you have to respect every point the Championship.

“We know at home we’re a really good side so us not winning at home is frustrating but we have to dust ourselves down and there is another big game on Tuesday.

“The league is so tight,” Pelly continued. “One win can push you up four or five places so we have to keep our heads down, our heads strong. Keep trying to put in performances and get points on the board.”

The DR Congo international had plenty of good words for goalscorer Carlton Morris and the other attackers, adding: “We have three, four, five fantastic strikers all chipping in. Whoever scores, whether it’s Carlton, Eli (Elijah Adebayo), (Harry) Cornick, Cameron Jerome, Cauley Woodrow is unfortunately injured right now but we have top strikers at this club and in the league.

“Whoever scores, we have to get round them and hopefully they are going to fire us towards the play-offs and at the end of the season we will see where we finish.”

After featuring in the matchday squad for only the fourth time this season, Mpanzu reiterated his desire to put injury woes behind him in a bid to help the team as much as possible for the rest of the campaign.

“Injuries are part and parcel of the game so hopefully I’m doing everything right. It was a muscle injury but hopefully I’m back fully fit and I can push on and contribute towards the season.

“The support from the staff throughout my rehab has been great to be honest. Si (Simon Parsell), Chris (Phillips), Daz (Darren Cook) have been working very hard with me so hats off to them for putting me back in a position where I can play week-in, week-out in the Championship. Hopefully I can push the team on.”