Jay Emmanuel-Thomas will be first in the queue should Lee Martin’s current ‘free’ role in the Ipswich side become available.
"It would be ideal for me,” admitted the 21-year-old, who occupied the position subsequently filled by Martin at Birmingham in January, "but right now Lee’s doing a very good job and everyone knows he has a lot more energy than I do.”
Meanwhile, the former Arsenal player is keen to add to his season’s tally of five goals in 29 appearances, 11 of which have been as a substitute.
Renowned for letting fly from distance, he added: "I don’t really work hard on my shooting. It tends to come naturally. From a very early age I’ve had a good shot on me.
"Normally, if I’m in the opposition half of the pitch and I see the ‘D’ on the edge of the area, and no one is challenging me, I will have a shot. I seem to get my efforts on target quite often.
"My right foot isn’t my strongest but I’ll have a swing if I have to. I don’t get many headers. I think I’ve only scored two in my whole time as a player — they were both when I was on loan at Cardiff, against Watford and Sheffield United — so I’d like to get more.”
As manager Paul Jewell consistently confessed, Emmanuel-Thomas was slow to get into his stride after moving to Portman Road last summer.
But the player said: "It wasn’t a culture shock for me. You learn more about football going to different clubs and it was just something I had to get used to.
"When I first came to Ipswich it wasn’t that I was unfit but the players already here were a lot fitter than I was due to their pre-season work. What I had done in pre-season at Arsenal was very different. "Playing on a regular basis has benefited me a lot. In all honesty my fitness has come on in leaps and bounds because I’ve been in the team in recent weeks.” Laid-back Emmanuel-Thomas enjoys his current lifestyle, adding: "Maybe it’s quiet around here compared to London but I like it. I chill out at home and often go out for something to eat. But I tend not to go out on a Wednesday — it seems Cardinal Park is full of people everywhere that night.” Photos: Action ImagesWhat to read next:
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