Boss Paul Jewell says summer signing Jay Emmanuel-Thomas needs to add more consistency to his game. The former Arsenal youngster, who was 21 yesterday, has made only seven starts since signing for a fee which ultimately could rise to £2 million.
But Jewell believes there is plenty more to come from the Londoner, who has been a regular sub throughout his time with the Blues: "He’s got the potential to be a really good player but he’s also got the potential to drive you up the wall.
"He’s got something that no one else has got - he’s got that unpredictability. He can stick one in the top corner or just as you’re going to bring him off he’ll stick a great pass through.
"He’s got lots of ability, we just need to nurture that. He’s only 21 and this is the first time he’s been away from Arsenal permanently so, while we wanted to have instant success, as we would with anybody, it doesn’t always work out that way.”
The Town boss says the former England U17 and U19 international needs to be at the top of his game more regularly and not just in short spells in games: "The main thing we’re trying to add to his game is consistency. All young players do go up and down but even consistency within five minutes — he goes from one extreme to another.
"But he has got that ability to get you off your seat, to have you saying ‘what a great goal’ or ‘what a great pass’. He can do things that other players can’t. He’s got that unpredictability. He’s only young and I think if he progresses he will be a very good player.
"He’s 6ft 4in tall, he’s got shoulders like a boxer, he can run but he just needs to learn the game and learn that this a tough league and a tough environment that he’s training in every day.”