Town may have more creativity in their squad than at any time in Cole Skuse’s time at Portman Road but he and his colleagues still take great pride in their defensive record.

They go to Elland Road tomorrow having kept clean sheets in four of their last six games and Skuse, a holding midfielder, said: “We take a great deal of pride in that record because we work on it a lot in training.

“Bez [Christophe Berra] has been different class, Smudge [Tommy Smith] was brilliant and has been unlucky with his back injury, and Webby [Adam Webster] is a brilliant signing, a great defender.

“Chambo and Jonas have been more than steady for us and Bart, who had all the accolades at the end of last season, has been brilliant for us again this season. We all pride ourselves on keeping clean sheets and the manager does as well.”

New signing Webster, widely regarded as Town’s man of the match in last Saturday’s 0-0 home draw with big-spending Aston Villa, has been one of the big successes of the season so far following his move from Portsmouth in the summer.

Skuse added: “I don’t know how you would describe Webby — like a much uglier (Franz) Beckenbauer I guess! I know I speak very highly of Bish but Webby’s also got all the attributes to play at the top level.

“He’s under great management here because the gaffer was a big, bruising centre-half himself and will teach him the uglier side of the game. He’ll turn him into a fantastic player.

“There’s more creativity in the squad right now because the manager has recruited really well.

“If you look at Tom Lawrence last weekend against Aston Villa, he can create a shot out of nothing. Jonny Williams is back on loan too and he is almost fully fit — we all know what he can do. Grant Ward had an unbelievable start so we’ve got more going forward.

“From a deeper midfield player’s view it’s exciting to know that if you give them the ball they can go on and create something.

“Bish has taken a dent to his ego, I think, after getting a bust face against Villa but he’s a brilliant kid and I’ve got a lot of time for him.

“As I’ve said in the past, in my eyes he is going to play at the very top level.

“It was a tough one for him last year because he had a lot of time off injured and he’s not the sort of kid that you can just throw in to play 50 games.

“He needs a bit of looking after and the gaffer and TC are doing their bit with that. He’ll come back and play a massive part for us this season because he’s a very, very good player.”

Meanwhile, Skuse is looking forward to playing at Leeds tomorrow and added: “We’ve played a lot of night games there since I’ve been at the club so it might seem a bit strange kicking off at three o’clock on Saturday. It’s got that special feeling under the lights.

“The place is steeped in history and you can sense the sheer size of the club.

“We’ll try to catch them off guard, try to get their fans on their backs early on. It can be a tough place for the Leeds players, I’m sure, if their own fans are on their back.

“It can be quite an intimidating ground. If they get off to a flyer the crowd are brilliant in getting behind them.

“But on the flip side, last year we had a great start ourselves and it can be a tough place for them to play.”

Photo: TWTD

cooper4england added 07:50 - Sep 23 Word of advice Webster, when MM says "yeah all that playing the ball out of defence and keeping it on the deck is all well and good but tomorrow I'll teach you the uglier side of the game", it's a good time to throw a sicky!
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Keaneish added 08:19 - Sep 23 “Bez [Christophe Berra] has been different class, Smudge [Tommy Smith] was brilliant and has been unlucky with his back injury, and Webby [Adam Webster] is a brilliant signing, a great defender. Oh dear Skuse. Looks like you borrowed Mick's limited book of exaggerated superlatives for this interview! Berra hasn't been different class, Tommy hasn't been brilliant and Webster is by no means great. No wonder you get an automatic start every week!

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Burnzee1991 added 08:37 - Sep 23 Keanish 4 clean sheets in 6 games and you're knocking our defence? Last time we conceded a goal that wasn't a penalty was against Norwich! Some fans just come here to moan about the team, get behind the lads if you're a Tractor Boy! I will say I do think we'd be doing better making Skuse captain and giving Emmanuel a few games in Chambo's stead. I think the competition for that place would be a good thing.

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MattinLondon added 08:41 - Sep 23 You can tell from what Skuse says that there is great togetherness in the squad and everyone fights for the cause. I know that I'm in the minority but Skuse must be one of the most overrated players in recent years. Guess it proves that football is all about contrasting opinions. Think the Leeds crowd will get on their players backs if they don't get an early goal. Also unsure if Monk really knows what he is doing. Here's to three points.

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cornishblu added 08:51 - Sep 23 Aka we pride ourselves on boring defensive football....and desperately hope that we may Nick a goal....then we,re different class ....our defensive play means we beat Preston 1-0 and then watch as Brentford beat them 5-0 .....hhhmmmm I wonder what performance the supporters would prefer (Can't help that feel that now we have an abundance of midfield players when one comes out and talks like mick that he might be wanting to win brownie points to keep his place!!".....but hey ho ..I'm a cynic !!) COYB

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Daleyitfc added 09:58 - Sep 23 Things NOT likely to be said by any of McCarthy's puppets at a press conference : "Most of the squad are pretty crap, and I'm one of the crappest". With a 2-faced dishonest manager, don't expect any honesty from the players.
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Lightningboy added 11:00 - Sep 23 You get the feeling that Mick and Skuse' perfect result is 0-0 every game. Dullest midfielder I can ever remember pulling on a town shirt.
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Bert added 11:00 - Sep 23 Oh dear, glass half full people on here who only want to be negative about our hardworking team. We know we have no stars as such but for me there is a difference this year in how we defend and what we try to create.
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Keaneish added 11:25 - Sep 23 Burnzee - don't be a moron and spew out the same nonsense a lot of others do. If you were much of a regular on here you'd see from all my posts I don't come on here to moan, I come on here to tell it like it ie: share my opinion. The simple fact is that "great", "different class" and " brilliant" are massive over exaggerations because, if you'd been watching their performances, you'd note that they've been anything other than those adjectives despite some good clean sheets. If you also read my post properly, you'll note that im knocking Skuses assessment. "Get behind the lads if you're a tractor boy"? Really? Agree with you MattinLondon. We're in the minority on our opinion on Skuse but glad others see His performances for what they are.

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BackTheBlues added 11:37 - Sep 23 Keanish - don't see the point in your comments? Literally negative for the sake of being Negative! Berra has been one of the best defenders in this league - althought is now in decline. Smith was our best defender last year. Webster will be a great Centre Back and play in the Prem. As for Skuse - if you don't rate him you totally miss the point in his role. Like all 'great defensive midfielders' - at whatever level they play at - their job is to tackle and give the ball short to someone else. Who was the player that stopped every Villa counter attack last week when breaking from our attack - Skuse! Point rested!

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crunchie1978 added 11:46 - Sep 23 And Cole do you pride yourself on contributing absolutely sod all to our team other than pass the ball back to whom ever gave it to you?.....oh but I'm sorry I've forgotten how much you do for the team...blah blah...
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jas0999 added 12:06 - Sep 23 We may have more creativity, but sadly MM still sets up for a 0-0. Often he will push the boat out and attack for ten minutes in the hope of nicking a one nil. It's effective, but equally we have a reputation for being boring and dull. Tough to argue.
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jjhbruno added 12:45 - Sep 23 Penalties are still goals conceded Brunzee, they don't just disappear from the figures. I suppose if someone scores a free kick or concedes from corner that doesn't count to goals conceded either because the ref gave it.
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leahcar88 added 13:05 - Sep 23 Well said backtheblues
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Keaneish added 13:33 - Sep 23 Backtheblues - it's comments like yours which make me deplore the voice of football fans sometimes. You don't see the point in my comments? Firstly try reading between the lines. Skuse has come out celebrating performances with adjectives that don't befit the displays. This isn't debatable, the performances confirm it. You've referenced Berra's and Smith's performances from previous campaigns which has nothing to do with this season and you've literally lifted a quote from MM to contextualize Webster's ability. Do you have any independent thought of your own? The fact you feel the need to explain to me the role of a holding midfielder is yet another post from another sanctimonious town fan feeling he has greater knowledge of the game. Boring. Skuse has been offering far too little in that role for far too long. His tracking of players is mediocre, his ability to break up the play is average, his forward distribution is pretty woeful and his ability to boss a game or dictate the pace of a game is non existent. If you want to debate Skuse I'd be more than happy to starting with the over amplification of praise which is rife in this town squad. This starts with MM, filters down to the players and is lapped up by Town fans seemingly unaware of the MM PR circus they're paying over the odds to watch and digest. It seems that if you don't regurgitate any of this PR nonsense back on here each week and if you offer a voice to the contrary, you get lambasted for it because it's not "happy enough". I'm led by a pool in Marrakech at the moment, I'm pretty happy. If you think Berra, Smith and Webster are deserving of these accolades you have to wonder what else lies in store for them this season? Only one person in this squad is truly deserving such praise at the mo and that's Bart. Think that's a point for you. Let's talk about Skuse...

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