Assistant boss Terry Connor believes there's plenty more to come from striker Frank Nouble, who he says has improved his all-round game during his year with the Blues. The 22-year-old was signed from Wolves for a bargain £25,000 in January 2013, Connor having taken him to Molineux during his brief spell as boss.
Nouble is one of a number of frontmen manager Mick McCarthy and Connor could turn to during 16-goal top scorer David McGoldrick’s 10-week absence with a torn knee ligament.
"Frank’s definitely improved,” Connor said, speaking prior to McGoldrick suffering his injury. "He’s improved his all-round game I think when the lads like you it shows you’re doing something in the group.
"We just want Frank to continue the way that he’s going, learning about himself, learning about the game of football and being an effective player when he plays.”
The Blues assistant believes Nouble, who has scored five goals in 19 starts and 28 sub appearances for Town and signed a contract until 2015 earlier in the season, didn’t get the best grounding in the game as a young player.
Having been with Chelsea's academy, the Londoner moved on to West Ham, who sent him on short loan spells at West Brom, Swindon, Barnsley (twice), Swansea, Charlton and Gillingham prior to his permanent move to Wolves in the summer of 2012.
"I think there’s a lot of potential still to come," Connor added. "I think probably in the early part of his career perhaps Frank wasn’t coached effectively.
"I think people saw a big, strong boy and he needs to understand how to play centre forward, how to play in a forward position. And I think he’s understanding that a little bit better now as he gets older.”
In addition to Nouble and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who played 63 minutes for the U21s as they were defeated 2-0 by Charlton last night, another of the strikers who could get his chance in the weeks to come is Paul Taylor, who has enjoyed only fleeting appearances in the first team since returning from almost a year out with a foot injury.
"We want him out on the training pitch, training consistently well and contributing in games,” Connor said of the £1.5 million signing from Peterborough.
"There’s a pool of strikers there now and in many respects it’s every man for himself. If you want to play, you’ve got to do more than the other four.
"And, if you do that on a consistent basis, the way the gaffer works, he’ll put them in the team.
"One week you’ll be missing one, like Paul Taylor was missing through his tooth, or there’ll be an injury to Sylvan or one or two of the other players. We’ve got a pool of them and it’s up to us to use the wisely and get the best of them.”
The Town assistant boss says the lack of goals from midfield this season - six in total - hasn’t been a particular worry while the strikers and defenders have been netting more than their fair share.
"As long as you’re winning games, it’s a concern but not a great one," the 51-year-old former striker continued.
"If there were no goals going in [from elsewhere] and there were no goals coming from that central area we’d be looking at that as even more of a worry, but the team has got its identity and David McGoldrick and Daryl Murphy have carried the brunt of the attacking play and we’ve had defenders who have chipped in with goals as well.
"As long as we’re winning games and we’re producing performances which are good, the midfield players are making their contribution as well.”