Town boss Roy Keane says it’s harder for players to make it into his first team this season than it was last year. Young midfielder Billy Clark broke into the side towards the end of 2009/10 making two appearances from the bench but has yet to feature this season, while Argentinian midfielder Luciano Civelli is still to make a first team return after his knee injury.
Keane said: "Billy’s a talented player but I think the good thing for us is that over the last three or four months the bar has been raised at the football club.
"Whatever Billy did last season and Shane O’Connor, or what Luca did 18 months ago, it’s harder for these boys to get in the team.”
Keane says he’s delighted by the increased competition: "It’s straightforward, the team will pick itself - the players who are on good form, are chomping at the bit and are training properly.
"That’s why when people like Luke and Chuck get suspended and we win a game, they’ve no argument if they don’t get in the team.
"I don’t have to put these boys straight back in the team. The bar has been raised, that’s what we want to do. We want to try and raise the bar every single day, and that’s a credit to the players at the club.”
Keane says Civelli should now be looking at pressing for a place in the his side: "Luca’s had a decent run in terms of games [in the reserves] and just as importantly has got training sessions under his belt. Enough of talk about injuries and comebacks.
"Whether he wins a place in the team will be up to the boy himself. Who should I put Luca in front of? Andros? Carlos? He’ll have to do a bit more to get in ahead of those lads.
"Those boys are contributing, they’re getting us up the pitch, they’re beating people, putting balls in the right areas. Whether people are getting on the end of them is another argument.
"Andros and Carlos are giving us good options at the moment, Reggie did well at Millwall, he was one of our best players that night and going to Millwall isn’t exactly easy.
"Luca’s got a big battle on his hands to get back in the team, which is a good thing for me. I’m not upset about that. Good luck to him.”
Meanwhile, skipper David Norris says he wants to remain at the club beyond the end of his contract, which expires in June: "I will certainly not be refusing negotiations here as I am enjoying it and am very happy here.
"My next contract is an important one as it will take me into my thirties, and after that there will not be a lot of football I can look forward to."