Blues boss Mick McCarthy says keeper Bartosz Bialkowski fully deserved to win the Supporters’ Club’s Player of the Year award last weekend, but admits he is disappointed that a more attacking member of his squad didn’t carry off the gong.

“Bart deserves it,” he said. “I’m a bit disappointed that the goalkeeper won the fans’ Player of the Year, I’d prefer it to be a centre-forward or a wide player or a goalscoring midfield player, if I’m going to be brutally honest.

“But he does deserve it, he has been outstanding and I’d give Gerks a fair mention because they’ve both been in and they both give each other fair support but unbelievable competition for that spot as well.

“And if one of them gets in they’ve got to play well because if they get injured or if they’ve had problems in their family lives, they’ve had illness and deaths and things that have cost them their places, as well as injuries, the other one steps in and it’s almost seamless and they end up being just as good or better. Those two both deserve a mention, but congrats to Bart for winning it.”

Meanwhile, the Town boss admits Tommy Smith was unfortunate to be omitted from the team which faced Brentford at the weekend.

The New Zealand international dropped to the bench as Kevin Foley came into the side at right-back and skipper Luke Chambers moved into the middle.

“Tommy was unlucky to be left out and when you lose the game all the decisions were wrong, of course,” McCarthy continued.

“Had it been different, we would have had two full-backs who had contributed, we’d have had a right-footer and a left-footer [at the centre of the defence] and I’ve been looking for that really all season but our back four has been the best back four, so he was unlucky.

“But it hadn’t been going particularly brilliantly in terms of getting results. If I keep doing the same thing that is the definition of madness, that.”

Photo: Action Images

hoppy added 06:51 - Apr 15 “But it hadn't been going particularly brilliantly in terms of getting results. If I keep doing the same thing that is the definition of madness, that.” What, like carrying on picking certain players (or not making certain substitutions) when it's blatantly obvious to everyone where the problem is, you mean?
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christiand added 06:52 - Apr 15 Yes true MM, but it was one of Berra or Chambers that needed dropping not Smith. The other two have been very inconsistent with their play. Smith has been the one who deserves the most credit for his level of consistency. I do wonder if this decision will now make up Smith's mind to move on in the summer?
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battyblue added 07:01 - Apr 15 Very bored now with MM
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Woodbridgian added 07:06 - Apr 15 If ( and I think the does) deserve it, It begs the question why you dropped him for half of the season!
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TractorCam added 07:10 - Apr 15 Amazing that he only got back in the team due to Gerken getting injured, if he hadn't Deano would still be starting to this day
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prebsa added 07:58 - Apr 15 If you think that why would you keep picking Gerken then?! He was awful when he came in but he had to stay in because he is your favourite. Of course you would have to mention him in the article when the award was for our number one when this has got nothing to do with him! Bart is our number 1!!!
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TimmyH added 08:30 - Apr 15 This has just made Mick look like a right chump!...how about getting a proper right back in, ert ick will say Chambers has done a terrific job in that position!
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tractorshark added 08:35 - Apr 15 Gerken played pretty well to be honest, apart from the errors at Reading and Forest. But Bart's been better and is better. Every keeper has a mistake in them but this is the season where Bart has clearly pulled ahead of Gerken in that respect. I'm a fan of what Mick has achieved and believe he deserves another year (with more money to spend) but this interview does irk me slightly. Firstly, the mention of Gerken is almost trying to justify why Bart didn't play the whole season. Secondly, no, Bart shouldn't have won the award. It should have gone to an attacking midfielder but we didn't sign one in central midfield when it was obvious we lacked creativity. Instead, we got Giles Coke and Douglas. Bart also shouldn't have won it because he's played only a third of our games which doesn't say much for the more regular members of the squad. To me, it smacks of a protest vote. And I'm sure McCarthy is well aware of that, hence his comments.

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naa added 09:36 - Apr 15 tractorshark: agree with this completely. Bart is a much better keeper than Gerken. I thought Gerken played well this season and I wasn't upset that he was playing. Until Bart came back that is and you realise how much better he is! Can't believe Mick mentioned a goal scoring midfielder. If he'd ever signed one and didn't play three defensive midfielders at home against bottom three teams maybe we'd have one we could have voted for. I like Mick, and I appreciate what he has done here. Anyone saying that it wasn't a hard job (and there have been some) is a fool. We were bottom when he took over and he has barely spent a penny on players (and has sold several million pounds worth) so to be where we are is impressive. But, as this season has worn on he's become more and more defensive in his tactics and when he does that the quality of football on show drops even further (it's never a very high bar) and it's become almost painful to watch.

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braveblue added 09:47 - Apr 15 Family death costs them their place. What a manager!!
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OsborneOneNil added 10:08 - Apr 15 “But it hadn't been going particularly brilliantly in terms of getting results. If I keep doing the same thing that is the definition of madness, that.” Erm, the poor results are due to lack of midfield creativity and no threat going froward. Not so much the defence. Bored..
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jas0999 added 16:46 - Apr 15 Interesting. Didn't MM pick a lesser keeper who made numerous errors above Bart, despite the fans constantly calling for Bart to be recalled?
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Seasider added 18:20 - Apr 15 Thought he would mention his favourite Gerks,and bearing in mind he played twice as many games as Bart then he should have won it;but he didn't.
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KiwiTractor added 20:44 - Apr 15 What an idiot
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