Manager Mick McCarthy said he was glad to have Jay Emmanuel-Thomas back in the fold after the midfielder came off the bench for his first 10 minutes of Championship football this year during Saturday’s 1-0 home victory over Leicester. The 22-year-old made a vital contribution to the Blues’ win when he made a superb block when Foxes midfielder Andy King looked set to equalise in the closing moments.
McCarthy says the former Arsenal youngster, whose last league appearance came in the final seconds at Charlton on Boxing Day, won himself a return to the 18 with his display in the 4-3 U21s victory over Colchester on Monday after impressing rather less in an earlier second string fixture.
"He did great,” McCarthy said of the former England U19 international’s showing against Leicester. "He got back in the team on the back of his performance on Monday.
"He played [in the U21s] at Charlton about six weeks ago and it was the most abject performance I’ve seen in a long time.
"And nobody will get in my squads, in my teams if they’re playing that way. I’m not bothered if it’s the U21s or the reserves or training games, you don’t get in my squads, in my teams if that’s the case.
"Do what he did on Monday, he gets back in the squad and he’s probably saved us the three points with his block.
"I’m glad to have him back, onside, playing the way he is, training the way he is. It’s lovely to have his ability.
"I hope the spell out of the side has shaken him up a little bit,” he added. "If it doesn’t, they don’t ever get back in the side, but he’s trained really, really well.
"I’ve been pleased with his training and I thought on Monday night that he was excellent.”
The Blues boss felt Saturday’s display illustrated how far his team had progressed since the 6-0 hammering by the Foxes shortly after he took over as manager in November: "It was our fourth game, we’d been thrashed by Palace as well. We were fresh into it, we were trying to get them organised and to work the way we wanted them to work.
"Leicester were excellent on the day but we were garbage. We gave a penalty away and were all over the shop. We were poor. It’s progress, isn’t it? From 6-0 to 1-0, it’s progress.”
Leicester boss Nigel Pearson, who was unhappy about some of the treatment meted out to his skipper Wes Morgan, thought his side should have got something from the game: "We didn’t deserve to lose the match.
"But credit to Ipswich, they’re working very, very hard and Mick’s got them well organised and they’re a lot more difficult to beat now than they were when he arrived, and credit to them for that. But I’m disappointed and the players are disappointed.”
Regarding Foxes striker David Nugent, who missed out due to a neck injury having scored 11 goals in 11 games against the Blues and seven in six matches at Portman Road, Pearson says he was a long way from being considered for inclusion: "He wasn’t close to playing otherwise he would have travelled.
"Who is to say whether we would have won if he’d played or not? We’ve had enough chances, we’ve got good players on the pitch and sometimes that’s how it goes.”