Boss Delighted With Debutant Clarke Friday, 15th Aug 2014 06:00 Boss Mick McCarthy was delighted with 17-year-old Matt Clarke’s performance as he made his senior debut from the start in Tuesday’s Capital One Cup tie at Crawley. McCarthy says the former Claydon High School pupil didn't put a foot wrong: “Everything he did, the fact that from minute one when I said ‘Clarkey, can you play left-back?’ and he went, ‘yes, no problem if needed, of course’. There wasn’t any hesitation or ‘I’m not so sure’. “I didn’t have any worries about him and I thought he handled it with aplomb. He was composed with the ball, he defended really well, he headed it, physically he coped with the tough, physical presence of older, more senior players. “And he was really positive with the ball, he was composed whenever he had it. His all-round performance was assured and he’s secured himself a place in my squad. “I was already considering that he’s my fourth centre-back, and that’s what he is. If I have problems, I’ll play him.” He says Town’s more senior players weren’t afraid to pass to the Barham-based second-year scholar: “It doesn’t take long for players to work out who’s comfortable with the ball, believe me, and whether they pass it to them or otherwise. “It’s a testament to the way he started, they were more than comfortable and happy to give him it. They trusted him with it.” McCarthy was annoyed that Town lost the tie 1-0 in extra-time, partly because it means the likes of Clarke and Teddy Bishop won’t get another similar opportunity to play. “As always if we lose I’m angry and frustrated,” he added. “I was frustrated really because we should have won the game, we had enough chances to win the game and we had enough possession to have created more chances, which we didn’t do. “So that frustrated me, some of our play. Certainly missing chances frustrated me. But as I said afterwards, in two weeks’ time when we haven’t got a game, it won’t be bothering me too much because you saw what I had to do with the squad. “But what really did frustrate me is not having a chance to give Alex Henshall another start, to give Clarkey another start, maybe even to start Teddy Bishop because I thought he was great when he came on. “So, it would have been nice to have another game to give them another competitive game.” He continued: “What do I say to them now? I go down and tell them ‘well done, you did everything I asked of you’ and they’ll be training with the first team squad mainly. “They’re part of it and if I need them, which with the squad that we have they might be called upon.” The Town boss says he currently has no plans to send Clarke or Bishop out on loan to gain experience: “Not at the moment. They’ll play in the U21 games and train with the first team and I may need them. It’s a fairly hectic start to the campaign. “Clarkey’s had one game, he played really well, let’s give him a chance to find his feet and continue playing as well as that.”
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