Boss Roy Keane says Jamie Griffiths and Town’s other youngsters now need to kick on and establish themselves in his first team squad. Griffiths, 18, made his senior debut as a late sub in last week’s 3-1 Carling Cup victory over Northampton.
Keane says he was pleased for the left-sided midfielder: "It was good for Jamie to come on against Northampton and he played about 89 minutes on Wednesday for the reserves. It was just as important that he did well on Wednesday night.
"That’s how we judge the players, not on how they are when they get in the first team but how they respond to it. He should have scored a couple on Wednesday, but it was nice for him to get on the pitch against Northampton.”
Bury St Edmunds-born Griffiths is by no means the only youngster currently in and around the Town first team with Tom Eastman and Luke Hyam both having made a significant impression this season. Reggie Lambe and Ronan Murray have also broken into the squad during 2010/11, while Shane O’Connor, Troy Brown, Billy Clark and Jack Ainsley made their debuts in the last campaign.
Griffiths was handed a professional contract in the summer when for the first time all seven of last season’s second-year academy scholars were kept on. Griffiths, Hyam, Eastman, Murray, Clark and Irish midfielder David Cawley were handed one-year deals, while Ipswich-based full-back Seb Dunbar was given a short-term contract to September, which has subsequently been extended to January.
Keane says that the youngsters who have made their debuts now have to make themselves indispensable members of his squad: "When we look back over the last few months, some of the younger boys have got a bit of a taste of it but they have to kick on now.
"A lot of them are only on one-year contracts, so it’s up to them to show a desire to get in the first team and stay there.
"We’ve brought in competition for Luke Hyam with Jake Livermore and Jack Colback, and for Shane O’Connor as well, and they have to respond to it. But I have to say, so far they have responded very well. They’re good lads with good attitudes.”
The Blues boss was reasonably happy with last week’s reserves performance at Stevenage, despite the match ending in a 2-2 draw: "It wasn’t a bad game. It was a good goal for Luca with his right foot.
"We were short of one or two, Luke Hyam played at centre-half. The young kids played some good stuff but should have won the game, they missed a few chances.”