Boss Paul Jewell says the Blues speak to their loan players’ parent clubs on a regular basis with the Town manager looking to keep the current side together for the second half of the season. Keith Andrews’s loan from Blackburn is up in January, while Danny Collins’s 93-day spell from Stoke ends after the Barnsley game on December 10th.
Jewell said: "We’re always on top of these things, we’re always speaking. We don’t suddenly think ‘Christ, his loan is up tomorrow, what are we going to do?’.
"It’s a constant evolution, we’re always thinking ahead to what we’re going to do next month or what’s going to happen in two months’ time. We don’t just decide what we’re going to do the day before but we want to try to keep most of it in-house if we possibly can."
The Blues boss has been pleased with the role Andrews has played in the recent surge up the table: "He’s got a lot of desire, he’s hungry and he drives people on. His [five] goals have been a terrific bonus for us.
"He’s part of a new team and that midfield of Jimmy, Grant, Keith and Lee Bowyer and the system we’re playing at the moment is something which is new to all of them, but is something they’ve taken to very well so far.
"But, as with other players, no one’s place is safe in the team. We want to drive everybody forward and keep them on their toes.”
Jewell says the chances of signing the Irish international, who has recently been linked with Wigan and Swansea, increases with positive results: "He’s done really well for us and the team are doing really well at the minute. I don’t want anything to cloud that.
"We just want to try and get on with playing games and the more we win and the more games in which he plays well, the more chance we’ve got of signing him. Come January, we’d like to keep this team and add to it.
"But it’s not just Keith, there are a few, there’s Danny Collins and David Stockdale. We’re always trying to keep abreast of the situation.”
As for adding to the squad Jewell, who dismissed a link with Manchester United’s young midfielder William Keane, says it’s a constant ongoing process: "I think it’s always important to always to try and move forward whether it’s January, whether it’s October, November or whenever.
"I think we’re always on the lookout to improve the players we already have here and always [looking at] players that are at other clubs who maybe could come here in the future. That’s no different to any manager.
"I think the players here always want to strive to improve, that’s what we’re trying to drum into them — we’ve done OK, but we want to do better and not stand still either on or off the pitch.”
Meanwhile, defender Ibrahima Sonko says he would refuse further international call-ups from Senegal if he were to receive them.
The 30-year-old, who has previously won four caps, said: "To be honest I'm not really interested. It would be nice to get a call-up, but even if I get it I would probably turn it down.
"I'm not really into that any more. It used to be a dream when I was a kid, now I've been there and done it, and it was great, but not that great. I will always support them but I would rather stay here and focus on my own team.
"If it happened I think I would just retire from international football just to avoid any problems with FIFA or anything like that.
"I don't want to be a player who refuses to play so I think I would just retire - but for now I haven't been called up anyway."
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