THE gloom around the County Ground was temporarily lifted for one squad member yesterday, when Lee Peacock received the news he had been nominated for the PFA Fans’ Player of the Month Award.

Peacock has been shortlisted alongside League One rivals Bas Savage (Tranmere), Luciano Becchio (Leeds), Matty Fryatt (Leicester) and Neil Harris (Milwall) for the December award, with voting due to close at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Town’s cavalier midfielder admitted he was “shocked” to hear about his nomination, just 48 hours after the dejection of a West Country derby defeat to Yeovil.

“It was totally out of the blue to be honest and I didn’t expect it,” said Peacock.

“Obviously the result against Yeovil was very disappointing for everyone, so this was a nice surpise.

“A few of the lads in the team have been doing really well lately and I have just been trying my best.

“Everybody knows about the problem with my back. I need an operation on it but I’m just trying to put it off as long as I possibly can.

“It doesn’t help my mobility but I will always give it 100 per cent.”

Peacock’s nomination comes after a miserable run for Town, who have taken just one point from their last four League One outings.

The 32-year-old made a temporary switch to centre forward on Saturday to plug the hole left by the suspended Billy Paynter, but is hoping for a swift return to midfield for the Boxing Day clash at Leyton Orient.

“Barry (Corr) still wasn’t quite right so there was no point risking him against Yeovil,” revealed Peacock.

“Hopefully he will be fully fit for Boxing Day and I can drop back into midfield.

“I wasn’t at my best Saturday, but it doesn’t matter if you are playing well or not, the least you can do is put yourself about for the team and make it as awkward as possible for the opposition.

“That’s what we did against Carlisle the other week too. Me and Pooky were up against three in midfield, we knew they would have lots of the ball but we just had to make it awkward for them.

“Sometimes you need to do that to allow more space for your outlet players, like Macca.

“I will happily play that role for the rest of my career as long as it keeps me in the team.”

Voting for this month’s PFA award closes at midnight on December 31.