Boss Paul Jewell says he was impressed with Town’s reserves during their 3-0 victory over Oxford United at Didcot’s Loop Meadow on Wednesday. It was only the second time the new Town manager had caught his fringe players in match action since he came the club, Chris Kiwomya's men previously beating Fulham 2-0 in a behind closed doors friendly at Playford Road.
Jewell said: "I was very impressed with them, once we eventually got there. I thought the players did really well on a difficult pitch.
"It was nice to see Luca playing and Andy Drury played for the first time in a blue shirt. We scored some really good goals and the attitude was spot on, first class.
"It’s only one game, but everyone’s trying hard and trying their best and that’s all I’ll ever ask, that’s all you can ask.”
Jewell says new signing Andy Drury isn't too far from a first team debut despite making the big jump from the Conference to Championship when he moved from Luton for £150,000 last month: "I don’t think he’s a million miles away.
"I think he’ll take a while to settle in, but he showed great quality on the ball on Wednesday night and that’s he’s an intelligent footballer. He will be a good addition to our squad, so who knows, we’ll see how he goes in training.”
The Town boss confirmed that Arran Lee-Barrett was rested in case Márton Fülöp came back from international duty with an injury, the Hungarian having previously missed the away game at Watford due to a minor back problem after a long flight home.
Jewell was impressed with Lee-Barrett's replacement, US U20 international keeper Cody Cropper, who was making his reserves debut: "The young kid Cody did really well in goal.
"We just thought that with Arran we’d be safe rather than sorry just in case something happened to Márton. I think Márton came back from international duty previously with a stiff back.”
The Town manager says some of his fringe players could be sent out for spells at other clubs between now and the end of the season: "There might be one or two who might benefit from a loan.
"I’m never against players going out on loan. I want players to be playing. I want them to be playing here, but there might be one or two of the younger lads going out on loan just to give them games, which is of benefit to us in the long term.
"We have to be careful not to leave ourselves short, obviously, but with the loan market open for us, it’s important that we try and improve our squad. By letting the younger players go out, that will improve them and give them a better education than them playing a reserve game once every three weeks.”
Meanwhile, former Town U18s skipper Curtley Williams is close to joining Conference side Chelmsford City having been with the Glenn Hoddle Academy in Spain since leaving the Blues in 2008.