Digby: My Future is at Centre-Half
Friday, 29th Apr 2016 06:00

His early games for Barnsley may have been in midfield but Paul Digby now believes his future lies in the central defensive role in which he made his full league debut for Town last weekend.

When he signed Digby on loan in January manager Mick McCarthy made it clear he would be using Digby, who has now clocked up three starts and the same number of substitute appearances in all competitions, in the middle of the back four.

Digby, who spent a fortnight on trial with Manchester United on the eve of the current campaign, made one start and came off the bench on two further occasions in League One fixtures for his parent club, who agreed to a loan move to Portman Road in January for the rest of the season.

The Sheffield-born player said: “I’d been playing between the two positions for a while and when I went to United last pre-season the coaches there said they saw me as a centre-half.

“I think that had a bit to do with me coming here as a centre-half. I’ve been learning off the gaffer — he was a great centre-half and I’ve got such a good mentor in him.

“I’ve been like a sponge really, absorbing all that I can off him. I’ve not really seen too much of that from managers I’ve had in the past.

“At this club they put a lot of effort into the players who are not playing regularly. They are looking to get the best out of them, whether they are playing week in and week out or not.

“I think that’s why there is such a good team spirit here. When I first arrived I noticed it. I was genuinely amazed at how strong the team spirit was.

“Unfortunately we haven’t quite made the play-offs this year but we’ve had a right good go at it all the way to the wire. That’s something that comes from the manager. The way he deals with the players is top drawer.”

At 6ft 5ins tall and powerfully built Digby is certainly suited to a defensive role and he added: “I’m training as a centre-half, which means coming up against all the strikers, people like Daryl Murphy who scored nearly 30 goals last season.

“Then there’s Pits [Brett Pitman], Reg [Luke Varney] and Searsy, all brilliant strikers. Didzy [David McGoldrick] has come back in now as well.

"When you’re training against these guys every day for four months it gets you ready for when you have to come up against the other top strikers in the league. You’re ready to do it because you’ve been doing it day in and day out in training.”

Could Digby add a different dimension to the Town team if he became a regular choice? He said: “If you get it right in terms of keeping clean sheets that’s a solid base and the football can come after that.

“There will be games when you can pass it about — Tommy [Smith] and Bez [Christophe Berra] have done it already — but there are others when they know it’s all about keeping a clean sheet. In the future I’m sure there will be a lot more playing out from the back.

“There are a lot of good young central defenders at Town — Matt Clarke, Josh Yorwerth and Joe Robinson have all been out on loan and will be looking to step up.

“They are all good centre-halves and it is good for competition. It definitely keeps you on your toes and wanting to improve. The way football works is that you have to be on your toes every day or you could find somebody else getting into the team ahead of you.”

Photo: Action Images

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runaround added 07:07 - Apr 29 I do wonder if Mick sees a bit of himself in this lad? Tall, central defender from Barnsley! Let's hope, if he joins, he goes on to have a good career with us
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rfretwell added 07:46 - Apr 29 You dont rate Polish Pete then Diggers??!!
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jas0999 added 07:52 - Apr 29 I wish him all the best and if we sign him then let's hope he is someone who is a regular in the future. However, for next season we need better players and the focus should be on overhauling our negative a frankly poor midfield.
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brian_a_mul added 09:23 - Apr 29

“At this club they put a lot of effort into the players who are not playing regularly. They are looking to get the best out of them, whether they are playing week in and week out or not.

These are the behind the scenes work and approach MM and his team have brought to the club. This approach is what gets the best out of decent players and pushes youngsters to their potential.
We definitely have the right manager for our club. With MM the shape of the team will inevitably change as the youngsters push on.

tractorshark added 10:22 - Apr 29

A lot of clubs are looking at Tottenham's way of using Eric Dier.
He plays the defensive midfield role but becomes part of a three-man central defence to allow the full-backs to push forward.
You often see the two full-backs furthest forward on the pitch but they can only do that because Dier sits in.
Digby could do that role and Knudsen could push forward but Chambers....