Boss Mick McCarthy expects new loan signing Frazer Richardson to be fit enough to get straight into action with the Blues, despite his lack of involvement with parent club Middlesbrough. The 31-year-old will be at Portman Road until the end of the season and is likely to be on the bench when Town face his old club Leeds at Elland Road this evening.
Richardson has played only once since former Town skipper and coach Tony Mowbray was sacked by Boro in October but McCarthy doesn’t see that being problem.
"He’s fine, I haven’t looked at what his record is from Middlesbrough. He was in the side up until Tony Mowbray lost his job, the next game he lost his slot,” the Town boss said.
"But he’s a fit guy, he ran 12 and a half kilometres when he was here with Middlesbrough. No worries about him at all.”
The Town manager says there have as yet been no discussions about a longer term deal with Richardson out of contract at the end of the campaign: "He’s a free agent in the summer.
"I’ll be considering every single free agent, every Bosman, whoever they might be. We’ll going through them as we did last year, and we got some good ones. Frazer will come into that category.”
McCarthy said yesterday that he hasn’t ruled out further signings at Town before Friday’s transfer deadline, while the big transfer story at Leeds has been West Ham’s offer - reportedly £3.5 million - for striker Ross McCormack.
"I’ve been on to Sam Allardyce and told him he’s great and he should sign him, get him out the door before we go up there!” the Blues manager joked.
"He’s a very good player. He’s got 18 goals this season, one of the leading goalscorers and he’s been their talisman in a lot of games.
"Brian McDermott’s my mate, I really like him but if I can take any advantage and beat him [I will]. As I keep saying, I like them all better when I win.”
McDermott says he’s confident that McCormack is going nowhere with the offer from the Hammers having been turned down last week: "The bid for Ross was rejected on Friday and I’ve have spoken to Sam Allardyce since and he has said that they won’t be coming back in for him.
"I am confident that he will be here after the window closes on Friday. Ross has never asked to leave. He is my captain and he is a talisman for our team.”
The Blues manager says he's not one of those bosses who finds the January transfer window an unwelcome distraction: "It’s what it is, like the rules and regulations.
"It’s like saying ‘What do I feel about the referee when he gives a penalty if you pull somebody back or you pull a shirt at a corner kick?’. I don’t like it, but it’s the rules, so I just adhere to them and tell my defenders not to pull them.
"The transfer window’s there and we just deal with it, it doesn’t bother me. I don’t get wrapped up in all that.
"If they have to play in the winter or in the summer, if that’s the rules they give us, we can all whinge about it, but I’m not going to change it, so let’s just get on with it and deal with it.”
Would be prefer just one window in the summer? "It doesn’t really disrupt me, I think it disrupts some of the top teams, all the ones that are signing all the players.
"I’m hardly splashing out doing anything big in the window that’s causing any aggravation to my players or anybody else.
"If you’re asking about the Premier League, the ones that can sign somebody and it gives them a real bit of impetus and go on and win the league, they’re the ones who think it’s brilliant.
"The ones who can’t do it and lose the league because of it will be moaning like a drain. I’m not bothered. I get on with it and do my job.”
However, he says situations such as McCormack’s can unsettle Championship clubs: "That’s the problem but then if you really want to know my thoughts, I thought making transfers whenever you wanted when I first started in the game was fine, when it could affect things at any time.
"I’m sure Brian McDermott doesn’t want to lose him and the fact that a Premier League club is talking about him might be upsetting him. I don’t know, we’ll find out on Tuesday.”
Meanwhile, separate reports claim the Blues have shown interest in Wolves pair Kevin Doyle and Jamie O'Hara, both signed by McCarthy during his time at Molineux.
Doyle, 30, is believed to be close to joining Middlesbrough on loan - with his former club Reading also claimed to be interested - and like O'Hara, 27, is understood to be on wages significantly higher than Town's current budget.