Boss Mick McCarthy doesn’t want midfielder Luke Hyam to temper his game, despite his challenge having led to Brentford winger Alan Judge breaking his leg during last Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to the Bees at Portman Road.

McCarthy says Hyam has been back to his usual self at training: “Luke’s been Luke. I don’t sit down and get a psychologist in for him, Luke is just what he is.

“He’s a really combative player and I really felt sorry for him that the first tackle, he’s won the ball. I’m not convinced that needs to be a booking if you win the ball.

“And then he was targeted by their players and the tackle which ultimately cost him and he reacted to was a nasty tackle on him.

“I thought he’d got his head round it, I thought he’d really tempered his style and he was coming off at half-time.

“Maybe I should have bitten the bullet earlier, but I was making other changes as well, so I didn’t want to do it then and I thought he would have got to half-time, but sadly for him and all of us, he just reacted badly to a bad tackle. But he’s fine.”

He added: “He’s gone and trained, and I just said to him this morning that all my nine sendings off were all miscarriages of justice.

“In fact I saw in one of the papers that and I had a flashback because there was a picture with an Everton player going off and the caption was ‘McCarthy takes an early bath’. I had a real flashback, I smiled to myself when I saw that.”

McCarthy says the 24-year-old can’t afford to lose his edge: "I’d shouted onto him, ‘Don’t let what’s happened affect us more than it’s affected them’ and actually it did because in the end we ended up getting Luke sent off.

“Had it been for another tackle I would have thought ‘Well, so be it’ but he won the ball. And he really tempered his game, I could see that so he wasn’t as effective.

“I was going to make other subs at half-time and I didn’t want to be taking him off then, I thought if he could get to half-time we’d do it then, but sadly he didn’t. I don’t want to temper his game, but if he does, he won’t be the same player.”

McCarthy says he has spoken to Judge: “We’re all feeling really sick about losing but the real tragedy for me is that Alan Judge has broken his leg in a terrible accident and that’s just what it was.

“There’s a kid who was probably going to the European Championships, probably moving in the summer and he’s now going to be out for seven months, so I feel desperately sad for him.

“I’ve spoken to him and, fair play to him, he said, ‘Mick, it’s football’. I loved his philosophical thought process on it.”

He added: “I don’t know whether Luke has spoken to him but I know he has messaged him.”

Keeper Bartosz Bialkowski also defended his team-mate: "He was down because he obviously didn’t mean to hurt Alan Judge. He is not that kind of player. He likes to tackle, but in a good way, and he is a really nice guy.

"He has been down but we are all behind him, the manager is behind him, so he will be fine."

Meanwhile, manager McCarthy reiterated that Town have taken up the options for a further season in Hyam and defender Tommy Smith’s contracts with new deals to be talked about further in the summer.

“We’ll certainly be taking their options for another year and we’ll let the season get out the way and we’ll discuss them afterwards. They are contracted for another season anyway.”

Photo: Action Images

sidtheswan added 06:12 - Apr 15 Stop defending him it was reckless !
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jas0999 added 06:27 - Apr 15 A reckless overly aggressive challenge which was so unnecessary. I don't want to see it again. MM is wrong on this one. It was a straight red for me.
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blue75 added 06:33 - Apr 15 Mick's not wrong on this, hyam won the ball judge went for it as well,just an unfortunate accident that happens in a contact sport. I wish judge a speedy recovery but that ball was 1-2ft away from judges foot when hyam tackled it shouldn't even have been a free kick!!!!
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muccletonjoe added 07:13 - Apr 15 He wont get the chance now . Whatever the verdict on the tackle, getting himself sent off was just stupid
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blue75 added 07:26 - Apr 15 Muccletonjoe agree he was stupid getting sent off that was down to bad management we could all see his head was gone!!!
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Dissboyitfc added 07:27 - Apr 15 Blue75.well said.and had it been inside the penalty area it would not have been a penalty! Its a physical game, what next no tackling? or how about not punching too hard in the boxing ring because someone might get hurt! It was a very hard challenge in which he won the ball, there wasnt any intent on Hyams part to injure Judge, sadly not the case when woods goes studs first and high and the only intention is to injure, thats a straight red people!

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prebsa added 08:01 - Apr 15 "Luke's been Luke" Yes Mick he has, he has been one of the three average CDM's you continue to pick. He is a standard championship player at best who cant go a game without making a late tackle and getting a booking. The only reason people like him is because he is one of our own and that is not a good enough reason im afraid.
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Mr_Evans added 08:18 - Apr 15 Won the ball!?!? Unfortunate accident!? Did you even see the tackle!? His leading leg completely missed ball and player and it was his trailing leg that took out Judge. It was mistimed and uncontrolled. If you go in to a tackle with enough force to break a leg then you shouldn't be on a playing field. Straight red - not opinion, but by definition of the Laws of the Game. Maybe MM should read it someday.

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BrettenhamBlue added 08:27 - Apr 15 The Four Horsemen of our Apocalypse.....Skuse, Hyam, Douglas and Coke
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MadDog added 08:33 - Apr 15 I cannot believe anyone let alone a football manager can defend that challenge. He deliberately tried to hurt the player-obviously not to break his leg-obviously he won the ball as he went through him with both feet!!! If Hyam doesn't change his style he will end up at Colchester & never fulfill his potential as it's the same every game. Whenever he gets challenged late he hacks someone down & gets booked. McCarthy just keeps proving why he is not right for our club-that sort of attitude is not what our club is about!! Leave Mick whilst we all still appreciate what you've achieved with the team.

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blue75 added 09:54 - Apr 15 MR EVANS I suggest you slow the replay down a one foot challenge hit the ball head on judge was trying to run onto the ball!! At full speed I thought it was a rash challenge but the replay shows a good tackle!!!! We all remember luc nilis tackling wrighty. Everyone should stop bashing Hyam he's a good championship player, good movement, good range of passing, not afraid to tackle and he's good at it!! Also gets in some good shooting positions just needs to have a go and he'd score a few!! He reminds me of geraint williams.

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Mr_Evans added 11:18 - Apr 15 blue 75 - are you MM? Hyam is average at best, people talk about him being a good tackler - but a tackle is normally his 2nd touch because his first touch is so poor. Hyam would not warrant a starting place in any of the teams in the top 10. He offers nothing but a 10 yard pass.
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DoseOfReality added 11:48 - Apr 15 Blue75 it was an irresponsible dangerous tackle no two ways about it. Hyam is very average at best and the lunge that has potentially wrecked Judge's career, whilst no doubt was not intended as a leg breaker, was made with needless over the top miss-timed excessive force. Is Hyam really as good as we can produce after years in our youth development system ..?!! He has no vision and cannot switch play, shoot, dribble, turn, pass or do anything creative. He can run all day and tackle - big deal - you can train most kids to do that if they're given the chance. We have the best CDM in league in Skuse he doesn't need Hyam and Douglas babysitting him, trust him to do his job and give other positions to players with a bit of talent & if we don't have enough due to injury GO AN GET SOME LIKE YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE IN JANUARY MCCARTHY & EVANS. Mr Evans you're right Hyam offers nothing but a 10 yard pass... sideways or backwards!! Lots of very deluded Town fans on this site, who believe what the club management say regardless. It is time to question the lot of them from board room to pitch & only when enough fans do it by returning their season tickets will anything happen. Loyal supporters want what is best for their club and sometimes it takes painful decisions to get the point across. The sooner enough fans cop on to force the hand of the owner the sooner something will have to be done. Otherwise more dross season after season....

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TimmyH added 11:57 - Apr 15 Sadly a player that has gone backwards under MM - shame he hasn't got something else to his game other than tackling, doesn't pass hugely well and hardly scores a goal (the last one I believe was against Wigan.
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BackTheBlues added 12:02 - Apr 15 It's a man's sport - Luke won the ball fairly - hasn't jumped in two footed - yes it was heavy and hard - but it is a contact sport. If Luke had of meant to hurt him it would have looked a lot worse and no ball would have been touched!
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blue75 added 13:16 - Apr 15 MR EVANS I never wanted Mcarthy appointed in the first place an anti football manager not an ipswich manager, I admit he was needed to sort out the squad but his time is well and truly up!! Also the best midfield pairing this season was hyam and foley against Forrest at home!!
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Dissboyitfc added 13:25 - Apr 15 Blue75 I only posted the other day comparing Hyam to g Williams neither of them great footballers but hard tackling no npmsense midfielders.
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terryf added 15:43 - Apr 15 What a stupid comment....if Luke had meant to hurt him it would have looked a lot worse. For goodness sake he broke the guy's leg. I am not saying that he went out intentionally to do that but at best it was a very reckless challenge. McCarthy's right he certainly plays the ugly side of the game well, but unfortunately has absolutely no creativity. As someone else said we only need Skuse as our defensive midfielder, so lets gets someone in who is energetic and can pick out a pass and oh yes a couple of speedy wingers and ball playing centre-half!!. Sadly however whilst McCarthy remains Manager I feel we may have to wait a while before the good old days return. Anyone who knows something about playing the game will tell you that there have been only two or three games this season that have been good value. The other matches have varied between very average and down right boring!

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Seasider added 17:29 - Apr 15 Not unexpected,McCarthy supporting a player who he thinks plays the game as he did,and getting stuck in,too much for my liking. He wants to listen to what others say about him,not that a Yorkshireman takes note of what anybody says,including or especially the fans;as coming from 'Gods County they are always right
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