Boss Mick McCarthy says he’d be willing to allow 19-year-old striker Jack Marriott to go out on loan to gain experience if a club wants him. First-year pro Marriott has been on the bench for the first team recently but is yet to add to his debut sub appearance on the final day of last season at Burnley.
McCarthy said: "If somebody wants him on loan. That’s the issue. If somebody’s seen him and fancies him in the lower leagues. He has got an eye for goal, so there’s the potential for that.”
Plenty of representatives from lower league clubs, including Southend assistant boss Dave Penney and first team coach Graham Coughlan, were at Monday’s 1-1 U21s draw with Bristol City in which Marriott scored in the fourth minute.
McCarthy says he took that goal well and that the youngster is pushing for that second senior appearance.
"We haven’t seen him [in the first team this season] but he’s getting closer because he has that happy knack [of scoring goals] and it was a good finish,” he said.
"He had a couple of other good chances in the game as well, just getting on the end of things from flicks on. He’s got that eye for goal.”
McCarthy says Marriott, who was born in Beverley but was based in Kettering prior to joining the Blues’ youth set-up, understands that he needs to be patient: "Of course he’ll say to me he’s happy and he understands it, but he might be at home saying he doesn’t.
"But I spoke to him the other day and he’s absolutely thrilled to be in the position he’s in, not to just be training with the U21s, but training with the first team, travelling with the first team.
"He’s delighted with the progress he’s making. Of course he wants to play, but where he is from where he thought he might be, he’s absolutely thrilled.”
The Town boss says he has no immediate plans to bring anyone in on loan, although is keeping his options open: "I keep looking but I always say, they’ve got to come and play in the team. If you take loans, we’re not going to take any kids, they’d have to come and play.
"And, as I’ve said before, they’d have to come and play really well to knock the lads out of the team that are in the starting line-up at the moment. But I’m still looking and if needs be, then we’ll do it.”
Meanwhile, McCarthy believes striker Frank Nouble has performed better when starting matches rather than from the bench with the 22-year-old having struggled to make an impact so far this season.
"It’s never easy coming on,” McCarthy said. "I think Frank has done better when he’s started. If I look back at when he played against Peterborough [last season].
"It took him a while to get in and then he had a great run and hit the crossbar. I look at him against Birmingham, certainly Crystal Palace, he’s been better from the start.
"Perhaps I’ve put him on just to shore things up and to make sure he works hard and stops the opposition coming out from the back.
"And we haven’t created that many chances when he’s been on. So, it would be a disservice to him to say it’s just been down to him.”