Manager Mick McCarthy says midfielder Anthony Wordsworth needs to play like he did during Town’s 2-0 win at Brighton on Saturday week in, week out. The 25-year-old was perhaps surprisingly handed his first league start of the season in place of the injured Cole Skuse at the Amex Stadium.
McCarthy says the former Colchester man, who had only made one FA Cup start and three Championship sub appearances this season prior to Saturday, impressed him in recent U21s games.
"I’ve been banging on at him about his training, about when he plays in the U21s and I think he’s really competed in the U21 games," McCarthy said after Saturday's match. "I’ve been delighted with him in them and with his attitude in training and that’s what’s got him in the team.
"I thought he’d played well in all the games I’ve seen, he’s worked really hard. He’s technically a very good footballer.
"My issue with him now is that he’s got to do it again, whether that’s Tuesday or not remains to be seen because he’s sat in there with two legs stiff as boards.
"From not playing, that’s a helluva game to come into but I thought he was very, very good today. We know he can play, now do it again.”
He added: "I bang on at him about doing the dirty jobs, tackling, tracking players, everybody throughout his career has said that to him.
"He certainly did it today. Everybody recognises he’s a good footballer but there’s a bit more to it than that and let’s hope that’s a sign that he’s buying into what I want from a central midfielder.
"And it’s not just today, he’s been doing it over the last few weeks and he deserved to start. But I’m saying that that’s just one game, if you look at our back four, how many games have we played? They’ve done it every week. That’s the test - every week.”
Echoing some of his comments about what he wants to see from Wordsworth, McCarthy outlined why Paul Taylor wasn’t in the 18 at the Amex.
"It’s the all-round contribution that counts, we’re a team. I think he’s a talented player who does well when he’s on the ball but it’s all the other stuff that I require, certainly at a place like Brighton," he told Radio Suffolk.
McCarthy gave short shrift to the suggestion that the Blues, who are ninth, five points from the top six, are exceeding expectations by still being in the play-off hunt at this stage of the season.
"I get a bit weary of that,” he said. "It’s a bit like ‘aren’t we doing well, aren’t we doing better than expected’.
"But when we started, I thought I'd got a good squad of players, we haven’t got many players, but the ones we’ve got, I think they’re good.
"You’ve seen today that they’re all prepared to work very hard. So, I don’t, no, we went in to the season thinking 'let’s make progress' and certainly that’s what we’re doing.”
The Town boss says he caught part of Town’s next two opponents in action on TV on Saturday lunchtime, Derby beating their East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest 5-0.
"Bonkers league, isn’t it?” he added. "I didn’t see it until it was 3-0. It was one of those games where the manager, whoever it is, in this case Billy Davies, has got to make changes to try and get back in the game to justify his travelling fans and all that.
"I thought he’d probably put two up front or a get a bit wider and they’d either get one back or they’d get beaten by six.
"And, of course, they got beaten by five because you get all over the shop chasing it. Derby were sat in, they’re a good side, they’re playing one up front, they’ve good runners. You could see it coming. That’s the way it goes, isn’t it?”
Meanwhile, injured midfielder Skuse joined his former club and hometown side Bristol City’s supporters for their 2-2 draw with Colchester at the Weston Homes Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Elsewhere, former Blues assistant manager Chris Hutchings has joined Barnsley in a similar role working under boss Danny Wilson.