COLCHESTER -- Tottenham's Eric Dier believes he has silenced his doubters with his displays in midfield but says he is happy to continue filling-in at the back when needed.
After rotating between right-back and centre-back last season, Dier has moved into midfield this term with remarkable success and he has missed just one match for Spurs in all competitions -- the 0-0 draw against Liverpool in October, through suspension.
The 22-year-old's midfield displays earned him full England recognition in November and he has been tipped to be included in Roy Hodgson's squad for next summer's European Championship in France.
And Dier believes he has proved his doubters wrong but says he is still improving in his new position.
"Obviously I'm playing in a new position so I'm starting from scratch really," Dier told reporters after Spurs' 4-1 FA Cup win at Colchester United on Saturday. "Everyone was doubting it at the beginning but I wasn't too bothered to be honest as long as the manager was happy with me. I think gradually I've been improving more and more in midfield.
"It's given me a lot -- my England debut and a lot of games for Spurs so I'm very happy, but I'm happy to be playing wherever the manager wants."
With injured Jan Vertonghen facing around two months on the sidelines and Toby Alderweireld rested, Dier dropped back into central defence for Saturday's routine victory at Colchester, just as he did in the third-round replay at Leicester City.
The former Sporting Lisbon player is happy to get game time anywhere and revealed he has not spoken to Spurs coach Mauricio Pochettino about his favoured position.
"They're different positions but obviously when you play at centre-back you've got a bit more time and everything in front of you, so it's a bit different but I enjoy doing both," he said.
"The manager hasn't spoken to me at all. It's up to the manager. I'm happy to play anywhere. We've got a lot of good players in every position, like Kevin [Wimmer] at centre-back. He's been doing very well so hopefully he might get a chance, or myself. There's so many options for the manager so it's just up to him."
Dier is likely to return to midfield for Tuesday's Premier League trip to Norwich, before facing Watford on Saturday. But despite having already played 34 games for club and country this season -- more than any other Spurs player -- he insists he is not feeling fatigued.
"It's fine. I never complain about playing," he added. "I'm happy to be playing as regularly as I am. There's no reason to complain, I feel extremely fit, I feel great, so there's no problem."