Town boss Mick McCarthy believes the Blues have a number of good youngsters making progress but says they’re not yet ready to come into the first-team on a regular basis.

The Blues manager is expecting to field a young side in this evening’s FA Cup replay at Portsmouth with full-backs Josh Emmanuel, 18, (pictured) and Myles Kenlock, 19, expected to be amongst the starters.

“I’ve been extolling the virtues of both full-backs, of Josh Emmanuel and Myles Kenlock. But they’re not better than the two lads that are in the [regular first] team,” McCarthy said.

“So even the thought of putting them in in front of Chambo or Jonas, that’s never going to happen.

“But they’ve got to be ready to play if and when they get the chance and I think they’ve both done well. I like Adam McDonnell, he’s done really well and some of the other young ones.

“Bish is still a kid and we’ve not seen him for ages, young Andre Dozzell, I think James Blanchfield is a really talented midfield player.

“I think we’ve got good talent coming through, but they are filtering through, they aren’t ready to play in the team.

“You’ve seen this league, Preston on Saturday and they matched us in everything that we did and we matched them likewise.

“But, boy, was that a tough game. They’ve got to be ready for that. It’s a bit of a shock to the system when they get thrown into it.”

Midfielder McDonnell, 18, is likely to be on the bench at Fratton Park this evening, while Blanchfield, 18, who joined Town after leaving Arsenal in the summer of 2014, and 16-year-old Dozzell featured for the U21s yesterday.

Town's U21s skipper Joe Robinson, a 20-year-old defender, also made the trip to Pompey as did Irish U18 international midfielder Shane McLoughlin, 18.

Last season another midfielder Kundai Benyu, 18, was on the bench for the derby at Carrow Road and a number of other matches, but this season his progress has been hampered by a knee injury which has meant he has featured little in the U21s let alone breaking into the senior side.

“He’s been injured,” McCarthy added. “He’s had bone bruising in his knee and he’s just been nowhere near it, which is really sad because he is a good player.

“If I consider him and Bish as two really talented, passing footballing midfield players that we’re missing, it’s a real shame, for us, for the team, for the club but for the two of them especially.”

Amongst those travelling and hoping for a place on the bench this evening is Kyle Hammond, 20, who missed much of last season with a serious knee injury but is now moving in the right direction.

“It took him a long while to get back to where he was, Kyle, but he is now,” the Town boss continued. “He’s trained with the first-team on a regular basis recently and he’s looked really good in the training sessions that we’ve had.

“He had a tough time with his injury and then he had an even tougher time with the fact that Josh [Emmanuel] had jumped above him and that really affected him. But he’s back at it now and he’s doing well.

“Young players have peaks and troughs in their development, footballers do, we’re all human beings.

“It’s impossible just to keep ploughing ahead and be at your top level, the best you can play all the time.

“I was watching the Liverpool-Manchester United game on Sunday and Wayne Rooney has been having a tough time, but then when he got that chance he nailed it because he’s quality.

“But how many games has he played? Three or four hundred or something? We all have good times and bad times, certainly footballers, and it’s how you get over them and come through them.”

Photo: Action Images

raycrawfordswig added 08:10 - Jan 19 will be interested to see how many play for us in the future.
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Steve70 added 09:58 - Jan 19 Heard this all before!!!
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tractorboyjim added 10:00 - Jan 19 As and when they're good enough I'd love to see a crop of youngsters in our first team. Can't beat winning football matches with 4-5 academy graduates on the pitch. Hopefully soon
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muccletonjoe added 10:07 - Jan 19 Would love to see Hammond start, he looked a really good player in the making before his injury.
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grumpyoldman added 10:10 - Jan 19 Remember when youngsters were given a chance, Burley, Wark, Brazil, Beattie, Butcher and the rest would never had a chance at this club if somebody like MM was in charge. At the time if a player was injured Robson would give them a chance, yes some failed but he found out in the heat of battle whether they were ready.
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muhrensleftfoot added 10:31 - Jan 19 Interesting that MM uses Rooney as an example of a player with experience, given that he made his debut with Everton at 16 years old. Would MM have given him his debut as a 16 year old? We all know that youngsters are not as consistent, but if they are never given a chance, then they'll never get any experience.
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WhoisJimmyJuan added 10:52 - Jan 19 Ultimately, if we were a passing side and less physical then more youngsters would feature in the first team. But with MMs emphasis on physicality to put it politely this ain't gonna happen. These lads aren't strong enough. Can't say I like it. This style is getting results but at a cost.
3

Garv added 10:58 - Jan 19 Must say I'm skeptical.
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ntoms97 added 11:18 - Jan 19 Looking forward to a successful amount of academy graduates!
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SohoBlue added 13:55 - Jan 19 “If I consider him (Benyu) and Bish as two really talented, passing footballing midfield players that we're missing, it's a real shame, for us, for the team, for the club but for the two of them especially.” Benyu, Bish, Dozel, McDonnell, and Blanchfield, Clarke, Kenlock and Emmanuel are all great prospects. It's great to see them being managed well be that loaned for experience, properly rested if injured, or given a chance to get around the first squad when they've done really well for the U21s. As for if Mick plays them, that's another story. If they show strength, passion and ability (probably in that order at the moment!) I trust that they will get a chance, but how likely that chance is depends on many things; 1st squad form, fitness and injuries, opposition style, and a host of other environmental factors we may not be privy to. So sit back and enjoy the big picture. We're a club with options for the future, standing up with the top of the division right now, and have a fan base to be proud of. And I'd love to see the Pompey fans silenced tonight by a Town next generation underdog 11... COYB

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southnorfolkblue added 13:55 - Jan 19 I thought that it was quite telling that he talked about 2 talented passing midfielders that we're missing. That suggests that MM is well aware of our deficiencies but has to pick from what he has at his disposal.
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grumpyoldman added 14:07 - Jan 19 If MM is as you say aware of what is missing why hasn't he done anything about it, none of his signing have been passing midfielders, there must have been some available on a free at sometime during his tenure. These players do not seem to be MMs type of player
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craigyboy10 added 14:19 - Jan 19 how comes niles is ready? But yet our youths are not? This is the question niles is 18 now? It's obvious that our youths are not ready. Or just not good enough
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Beattiesballbag added 15:28 - Jan 19 Preston match not as tough as the Leeds game Warky made his debut in! What a load of old flanel. The difference is Robson would use youngsters for cover for the first team & give them a chance instead of signing old Journey men & farming out the youngsters on loan............Having said that, if they were to go to Porsmouth on Loan at least they would be taught how to pass the ball.

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battyblue added 16:01 - Jan 19 would be nice to have a manager come in who would use our young talent..perhaps at the end of the season for next seasons push for promotion.
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Ipswichbusiness added 17:46 - Jan 19 Given that Bishop is out with a long term injury, it is sad not to see a youngster such as Benyu or McDonnell come into the team. However, MM sees them every day in training, which I don't, so I have to trust his judgement.
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Seasider added 18:15 - Jan 19 I recall Mr Milne saying on the Saturday football show on Suffolk last year the ultimate aim was to have half the first team from our Academy Well if you consider since MM has been here NOT ONE player has become a first team regular,with Smith and Hyam already established.Only Bishop briefly flirted with the first team before prolonged injury. It could be that Mick is just saying the above to keep his employers sweet,especially as he has said that none of the players coming in tonight will play on Saturday.Not the most motivating thing to say for the boys out there this evening;but our straight talking Manager has made it clear several times that his only interest is the League. Just hope we dont get thrashed tonight,as Colchester did to our U21 side yesterday

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NSL added 21:03 - Jan 19 Surely the fact we can't produce enough talent to give chambers and Knudsen a run for their money proves the academy is an utter shambles doesn't it?
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