Town’s U23s travel to the Macron Stadium to face Bolton Wanderers this evening with boss Mick McCarthy believing this season’s switch from U21s football is a positive move (KO 7pm).

“That is better without a doubt,” McCarthy said. “Not so much for us but there will be some clubs who will be carrying 22 and 23-year-olds who can play in that league and then the 18 and 19-year-olds can play against them, and it does help.

“I remember playing against Mel Holden, he was playing for Sunderland, he’d signed from Preston for £175,000, and I was a 16-year-old and he was a monster, or I thought he was at the time.

“He knocked me from pillar to post but I stuck with it and kept going and kept going. And I remember coming off and somebody said to me, ‘Well done today’ and I thought, ‘Really?’

“But it was because I’d kept going and that was a real learning curve for me. I didn’t think I’d played particularly well but I learnt a lot playing against him.

“And playing in that reserve league that used to be the Midland League, it was tough playing against blokes, and I think that the youngsters benefit from playing against better players, I certainly did.”

Gerard Nash, who took over as the U23s coach in the summer following Mark Kennedy’s departure, joined McCarthy in the dugout for the Aston Villa game with his assistant Terry Connor away from the club following the death of his mother.

The Town boss is a big fan of the 30-year-old Irishman, who previously coached the Blues’ U18s.

“He’s impressed me no end,” McCarthy added. “I watched some of his sessions prior to him being made the U23s coach.

“I was always impressed with him, talking to him he loves his football. If he ever goes to watch a game he gives you a real insight into it, he’s very incisive about how he does the analysis on a game.

“And he was great on the bench on Saturday because I can’t see everything, I don’t think anybody can, certainly not from the position that we have. If you sit up above it you can see a bit more but you can’t do a lot about it when you’re sat up above.

“He picked a couple of things out which were great, he did the warm-up with the lads and I’ve just been impressed with him, as a bloke and as a coach.

“And I’ve no doubt he’ll benefit from being on there because it is different, especially when he kept getting the subs wrong, ‘Is it Sears or is Pits?’ and they came to me, ‘Bish and Pits!’.

Something else had just gone on and I was thinking ‘Why are they asking me who’s coming off? I’ve told them who is coming off’.

“It was one of those, it ended up being funny, of course. But he was very, very good, he was excellent, I was really pleased with him.”

McCarthy watches Town’s U23s games from the directors’ box, has he ever considered doing the same with senior matches?

“I’ve done it twice, lost both games,” he recalled. “I did it once at Millwall and once at Sunderland and I felt completely detached from it. Maybe that’s why people do it so they get a broader overview.

“But I affect games being down there, there’s no question I do, me and TC affect games, affect parts of games. You can’t do it up there. I hated it, so I’m not being tempted at all.”

With the first team in action at home to Brighton tomorrow Nash has taken a 16-man squad to Bolton, largely made up of young pros - including Kundai Benyu, Michael Crowe and Shane McLoughlin - and academy scholars such as striker Ben Morris, who netted twice in last week’s 4-0 home victory over Leeds United.

In recent U23s games, including the win against Leeds, Paul Digby has been used in central midfield rather than the centre-half role in which McCarthy has generally utilised him since he initially came to the club on loan from Barnsley last season before signing a permanent deal in the summer.

“He’s played both roles and having players who are versatile and adaptable is good,” the Town boss added. “I thought he played well the other night.”

With Adam Webster expected to miss out tomorrow with the hamstring injury he sustained at Leeds on Saturday and Tommy Smith sidelined having undergone back surgery, Digby could be in with a chance of starting for the first team against Brighton, although skipper Luke Chambers seems more likely to move into the centre with Josh Emmanuel coming in at right-back.

McCarthy said he was also pleased with the performances of young centre-halves Chris Smith and George Fowler behind Digby against the Whites at Portman Road.

“I thought both of them did well, I thought George played well, certainly in the second half.

“In the first half I thought Leeds played well for 30 minutes and we stuck with it, I thought they were a handful, but I was pleased with them both.”

Town's U23s are currently seventh in the 10-team Professional Development League South having won two and lost three of their five games so far this season.

Photo: TWTD

carsey added 13:05 - Sep 26 Chris Smith is one of those youngsters who is never going to get a chance at Portman Road while McCarthy is in charge unless all the other centre half's get injured or ill. He is far to much of a footballer who's first instinct is to control the ball then look for a team mate to pass it to. McCarthy just wants players to hoof it up the pitch and wait for it to come back. Sad days at ITFC

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Swn98 added 14:34 - Sep 26 Interesting point about sitting up in the Stands Sir Bobby always used to sit up in the directors box for the first 20-30 minutes he was connected to the dugout by old fashioned telephone.
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carlisleaway added 14:52 - Sep 26 Well McCarthy has not effected any games I have seen while sitting in the dugout.
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essextractorboy93 added 14:58 - Sep 26 Good to see the amount of youngsters we have coming through. Interesting to see how Emmanuel does tomorrow! COYB!
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