Boss Mick McCarthy has decisions to make at both ends of the field ahead of Town’s opening Championship game at home to Fulham a week on Saturday. Strikers Paul Taylor and Jack Marriott will be amongst those to come into the reckoning to partner Daryl Murphy up front, with David McGoldrick unlikely to start, while McCarthy is delighted to have plenty of options at the back.
McGoldrick is back in training following his knee injuries and could feature in one or both of Town’s final friendlies at Southend on Tuesday and Leyton Orient on Saturday, but the 26-year-old almost certainly won't be considered fit enough to make the XI when the Blues take on the Cottagers in August 9th’s live Sky game (KO 5.15pm).
McCarthy says Taylor will be in his thoughts, while 19-year-old Marriott has made an impression during pre-season, having scored twice, as has another alternative Frank Nouble.
"Tayls has done OK, but I didn’t think it was working for us [at Gillingham] with him, although that wasn’t so much [why he came off at half-time, more that] I wanted to look at Jack Marriott," he said.
"Jack deserved a start. The reason I didn’t start him was because I wanted to play [trialist] Balint Bajner and have a look at him. I changed it around and I thought Jack did well. Tayls continues to work hard and we’ll see.”
Taylor was given few opportunities during 2013/14 following his return from a long-term foot injury and McCarthy made him available for transfer at the end of the campaign. Would he still be willing to accept an offer if one was forthcoming?
"That was the end of last season,” McCarthy said. "Until the season starts I’m just keeping my options open and my powder dry in terms of what I would do and what I wouldn’t do.
"We’ve got two weeks to go and who knows what I might get in terms of injuries. I’ll make sure I’ve got the best group of players that I can have when we start and then, if somebody comes in for somebody that I don’t think is for me and the squad, I’ll let him go.”
At the back, Town have kept clean sheets in all four of their pre-season games up to now and having ruled out playing three central defenders and two wing-backs — "Not a chance” — the Blues boss has to decide who to leave out.
Christophe Berra and Tommy Smith were last season’s regular central pairing with skipper Luke Chambers — who has played at centre-half throughout pre-season so far — at right-back, while Tyrone Mings and Jonny Parr have both impressed at full-back since Aaron Cresswell's departure for West Ham.
"And don’t forget Elliott Hewitt!” McCarthy pointed out. "Wow, there’s loads of them! It’s great, isn’t it? It’s lovely having options.
"When you’ve only got four of them, you’re scared of injuries. I think I’ve got good players for each position and good cover, depending on who doesn’t play. There’s only one thing worse than having options and that’s not having any.”