YEOVIL Town midfielder Jean- Paul Kalala will not be distracted by his disciplinary record for fear of losing his combative edge.

The tough-tackling Frenchman returned to the Glovers squad for Saturday's trip to Oldham Athletic after serving a one-match ban.

Kalala sat out the 2-0 League One defeat to Hartlepool United seven days earlier after picking up two yellow cards at Bristol Rovers.

The former Latic, who signed a new deal at Huish Park in the summer, picked up 14 bookings last season and admitted his dismissal at Rovers was "stupid".

However, Kalala said he would not be over-analysing that side of his game as it could detract from his input on the pitch.

"The gaffer (Terry Skiverton) was not best pleased (with the red card) and he made his point loudly enough," said Kalala. "He just told me to do better next time and be a bit more diligent with the tackles.

"If I am picked to play, I will give everything and not notice too much about being booked or not.

"I am going to be myself and play as well as I can. I am just going to approach this game with the right mentality, getting stuck in, and not thinking too much. If I think too much, that is the worst that can happen.

"But you have just got to keep in the back of your head that if you have already been booked you will have to be more clever. But other than that, I will keep doing the same things.

"I cannot guarantee that I will get fewer bookings, but I am not going to get that in my head too much. I am going to focus on playing. If you focus on yellow cards, you might not play as much."

"If you look at players, not even in our league, but in the Premier League and those you watch on television, players of my profile and that do what I do get booked all the time as well.

"So it is not a big surprise, it is just that there are some bookings that are maybe avoidable."

At 28, Kalala is one of the oldest players in the Yeovil squad, and the oldest midfielder on the club's books.

However, he said the Glovers' young look was counter-balanced by the summer arrival of experienced defensive duo Paul Huntington and Adam Virgo.

Kalala said: "I think that the gaffer has improved the team a lot at the back. We have got more experience back there, which is a good thing.

"We might be a bit younger than we were last year in the middle of the park.

"That is the assessment that I have made and that means we can be a bit naive at times. But it is a good thing that we have strengthened the back four.

"The gaffer has asked me, to help the younger guys with my experience and to talk a lot. The fact that we are younger probably gives me a responsibility in that midfield."

While Saturday's referee Oliver Langford may have angered Skiverton at Boundary Park, Kalala earned praise from his manager.

Coming straight back into the starting line-up, Kalala impressed by breaking up play and earning possession.

Skiverton has refused to come down too hard on Kalala's approach, comparing his bite to that of Manchester United's Paul Scholes.

"JP is very transparent in his emotions and I think you can see those from space," said Skiverton.

"You can see exactly what he is thinking. That is natural, but we have got to try and keep a lid on him and make sure he is not going across the line.

"It is difficult, but in the past we were quite lucky because (former midfielders) Darren Way and Lee Johnson were very good at going right up to the line and not crossing it. We just need to get JP to know where the line is."