Midfielder Paul Green felt team-mate Paul Taylor was well suited to his role during Saturday’s 1-0 home victory over Birmingham. Taylor, 26, only came into Mick McCarthy’s front three as a late replacement for new loanee Jonny Williams, who suffered a minor hamstring injury in Friday training.
"It was the perfect role for him, tucked in behind the two strikers,” Green said. "Paul gets the attack going and gets his shots in. All it needed for him was a goal.
"He deserves to play because in training he does that day in day out. He deserved the man of the match award, he was brilliant.
"He is a proper Scouser, a lively character, but all the lads are great in the dressing room. There is a great team spirit and we are a tight-knit group.
The Ireland international says he’s settled in well following his loan move from Leeds: "I didn’t know what to expect. I have been to a few clubs but this is one of the best dressing rooms I have come to.
"Everyone is close and everyone has the same goal. I was accepted straight away. We have been out to the cinema and out for meals as a group, it has been great.”
As for Saturday’s winning goal, netted by Daryl Murphy, who will join him in the Ireland squad ahead of Wednesday’s friendly against Serbia, Green added: "It was a proper striker’s goal. Big Frank has put in a great ball and Murph has got on the end of it.”
He says the victory was very much required: "We needed it because if we hadn’t won we could have been too far off the play-offs.
"We have got it down to four points and we face a big month. We’ve started off well getting three points and now we have to keep it going.”
Green believes the Blues have to believe they can still make the play-offs: "If you don’t think you can get there you won’t. But everyone believes we can and we are aiming to get into the top six.
"This is a big month for us and we have seven games where we can get points and we started well with three points against Birmingham.
"This is a classic Championship season. There is usually one team that runs away, that looks like it is Leicester this season, then there is a close group and that is the case again, top and bottom.
"But we don’t worry about others, we think about ourselves and winning our games, starting with Middlesbrough on Saturday.”