New signing Sylvan Ebanks-Blake will have no trouble settling at Town, according to his former Wolves team-mate Stephen Hunt.
The pair enjoyed some good times together at Molineux and Hunt underlined Ebanks-Blake’s value when he said: "I hadn’t spoken to Sylvan since I left Wolves but although he had a few options he obviously feels comfortable about signing here. Before he got injured last season he was flying and scoring goals on a regular basis.
"It probably cost Wolves their Championship status in the end, him not being able to play. I don’t think they would have been relegated with him in the side. But we are delighted to have him here and he’s flying and ready to go.
"He’s a goal machine, a natural finisher. Sometimes he strikes the ball cleanly and it goes in but other times he’ll scuff them and they still go in. That’s a good sign of a striker who knows how to score and what to do in the box.”
He added: "I know — and both Mick McCarthy and Terry Connor certainly know — what Sylvan brings and hopefully he can get us goals. That’s his main attribute in terms of how he goes about his business.
"Don’t be fooled by his body language because sometimes he can look like he’s in a sulk. Generally he’s not. He can moan on the pitch but he just wants to score goals and he wants to win.
"The game’s all about different characters and how to deal with them. I think he’ll fit into the group no problem at all. He’s a funny character.
"When I first went to Wolves I was thinking ‘Who’s this such and such a person’. But once you get to know him you get to like him and he’s a lovable rogue to a certain degree.”
Ebanks-Blake adds to manager McCarthy’s striking options going into the hectic Christmas programme, although it may be 2014 before he features much.
Hunt added: "All the strikers at the club are different. Murph and Frank are the big guys, Sylvan backs into people and likes to feel defenders so he can hopefully turn them and shoot.
"Murph is a link-up player and Frank is off the cuff a little bit sometimes and effective, while Didsy is obviously on fire. That’s the way I see it.
"We’ve got ourselves into a good position going into the Christmas period and hopefully in the next three or four games we can build on it and look to get up the table.”
"If you can have a good Christmas it sets you up for the new year and the second half of the season in a positive frame of mind. It’s better than being in a position where you are thinking ‘This is going to be a tough second half of the season’.
"We are all looking forward to it and can’t wait for it to happen. I’m fresh — I’ve only played in four of the last seven games — and I hope to get loads of games between now and the end of the season.”
Photo: ITFC