New boss Paul Jewell says Argentinian midfielder Luciano Civelli reminds him of his former Wigan player Kevin Kilbane. Civelli, who is likely to be amongst the subs for today’s game against Doncaster, is still to get back into first team action after 22 months out following his multi-ligament knee injury.
Jewell says Civelli did well in Tuesday’s 2-0 reserves victory over Fulham but that a first team game is a further step up: "He looked OK in that reserve game, but that’s completely different.
"Obviously, when you’re out so long it’s quite a concern for you. But he did well in training this [Thursday] morning and he reminds me so much of Kevin Kilbane, the way he runs and his gait, he’s a left footer too. He’s like everyone, it’s up to them to make an impression on us.”
Coincidentally, veteran Irishman Kilbane could also have been a Town player with former boss Roy Keane making attempts to sign him last summer and early in this transfer window.
Civelli has been on the bench on a number of occasions in recent months and Jewell says that giving him 10 minutes at the end of a game where Town are 2-0 up has crossed his mind, although the Blues haven’t been in that position too often recently and these sorts of plans never tend to work out.
He said: "That is an idea, but I’ve always found that when you’re lying in your bed and you think that if that happens and that happens and then that happens, it’s a waste of time because it never happens that way.”
Civelli, who had made eight Town appearances before suffering his injury in the home game against Burnley in March 2009, is again likely to be on the bench for today’s clash with Doncaster, a side Jewell rates very highly: "As they are every year, they’re a terrific footballing team. They’re all comfortable on the ball and it’s no wonder Sean O’Driscoll is much sought after because you can tell he works on the training ground with players.
"I live in Yorkshire and I know that when he first went to Doncaster he was under pressure because he wasn’t getting results. But the chairman stuck by him and he’s seeing the benefits now. He’s one of the most sought after managers in the Championship.
"They are good footballers and on their day they’re a bit like the Arsenal of the Championship. They can pass the ball as well as anyone in this league.”
Jewell says his 20th-placed side have got to be stronger mentally to turn the recent run of largely narrow defeats into wins: "When you look at our defensive record compared to the rest of the teams down there it is. Our goal difference is 14 better than Palace in the bottom three.
"It’s not as if we’re getting battered every week, we’ve lost by the odd goal a few times we were in a winning position last Saturday. If we could have seen it out until half-time it might have been a completely different story. We’ve got to be mentally strong at key moments of the game.”