Zesh Rehman played his first City game as an emergency left back.

It was not his standard position – he was used to playing in the middle of the back four or occasionally on the right.

But with Luke O’Brien ruled out of the trip to Bury late on with flu, the loan signing willingly stepped into the breach.

For Stuart McCall, it was a bonus to bring in a player who was happy to play in a variety of roles.

But that versatility, ultimately, proved to be Rehman’s undoing at Valley Parade.

Having a jack of all trades in the squad is always handy for a manager. But on the flipside, it can work against the player himself.

Instead of nailing down a regular spot in one position, he becomes the utility guy; someone there to call upon when illness and injury bites.

That was certainly how Peter Taylor saw Rehman. He was a defender that the City boss could rely on to plug the gaps.

But not, in the manager’s eyes at least, someone who would play a whole season in the same slot.

“It’s what happens to a lot of players who can play in different positions,” said Taylor. “Sometimes they are so helpful to you that it doesn’t help them.

“You’ve got someone who will say ‘I will play left back for you, I’ll play right back, I’ll play centre half’ and it’s great. But it sometimes means they don’t get that regular spot because of it. That definitely happened for Zesh with me.”

Rehman even had an outing under McCall as a holding midfielder. Wherever there was a vacancy, he was your man.

The radio episode which hastened his two-year stay towards the end was unfortunate. Rehman’s frustration got the better of him after seeing himself pushed down the pecking order again by young and inexperienced loan arrivals.

First it was Manchester United rookies Oliver Gill and Reece Brown. Now, Watford centre half Rob Kiernan and Burnley’s Richard Eckersley hold down the positions that he found so elusive on a regular basis.

It was nothing new for Rehman. Once Taylor had got his feet under the table last season, he quickly swooped for Luke Oliver from his old club Wycombe.

Rehman was out of the picture at centre half but was soon called back in to cover Simon Ramsden’s absence at right back. He responded by playing his best football in a City shirt over the final six weeks of the campaign.

But by August, he was back on the sidelines. His first league start did not come until the end of September against Rotherham.

Playing right back again, Rehman helped City to an unexpected clean sheet in the Don Valley. His next three league outings saw three more shut-outs and his team bank maximum points.

But the 1-0 defeat at Wycombe five weeks ago proved to be his swansong.

Rehman was back on the bench against Macclesfield the following week and it proved to be one rejection too much.

Usually so careful and clued-up with what he had to say, he let his feelings be known in a couple of instances, culminating in that ill-advised chat on the radio.

Taylor heard it all live – and stripped him of the club captaincy.

The writing was officially on the wall, though Rehman must have sensed it coming long before whenever he found himself on the outside looking in. At least player and manager still parted amicably; both respecting each other’s position. There is no lingering ill-feeling, certainly on Taylor’s part.

But as Rehman heads for a fresh adventure in the Far East, he might want to make it very clear to his new employers that he is coming over to do one job – and one job only.