Boss Roy Keane has revealed that the Blues have recalled defender Tommy Smith from his loan spell at Brentford as cover for the red-carded Damien Delaney. Town will decide whether to appeal Delaney’s dismissal this morning.
Keane said: "He trained with us last week and it was nice to have him back in the group and with the games coming up, I was tempted to bring him back anyway. With Damien’s sending off and a potential ban there I want him back in the group.
"He’ll be back for the season. He’s done reasonably well there, he’s had the experience of playing for New Zealand and it was touch and go whether I’d let Tommy go anyway when we brought Pim back in. Tommy will be back training with us this morning.”
Smith, who was due to remain with the Bees until April 7th, may be more likely to replace Delaney than Pim Balkestein if the Irishman’s suspension stands given that he has played regularly for Brentford in recent weeks.
The Blues boss says Town are yet to decide whether to appeal: "We’re undecided. We felt previously that Jon Stead was very unlucky to be sent off. We thought that a yellow card would have been bad enough and he ended up and he ended up getting the extra game, so we’ll have to be very careful.
"We felt it was harsh but if we appeal it and get an extra game, then we’ll be kicking ourselves. We’ll make a decision in the next hour or two.
If Town appeal today, Delaney, who faces a three-match ban having almost certainly been sent off for serious foul play, would be able to play at Watford.
Meanwhile, Town will make a decision on whether Daryl Murphy can play against Watford once the striker has been assessed today. The Irishman was replaced just after the break with double vision.