Boss Mick McCarthy says striker David McGoldrick has “got his head around” missing out on his proposed move to the Premier League and has been brilliant in training this week. The Blues turned down a £7 million offer from Leicester City just prior to the transfer window closing.
McCarthy admits that the 26-year-old had his head turned by the prospect of playing in the Premier League but believes anyone would have in the same position.
"He did, of course,” the Town boss said. "And as I said before, each and every one of us would have had our heads turned with the possibility of going to the Premier League, me included, let’s not kid ourselves.
"The lovely thing is that he was happy here in the first place and didn’t want to leave. So somebody turned his head, but it wasn’t like it was from a starting point where he was hating it and he wanted to leave in the first place and he couldn’t go. That’s a different ball game.
"He’s never said he wanted to go. He let it all pan out and he’s been brilliant this week, he’s trained great. He’s got his head around it and he’s cool.”
McCarthy expects McGoldrick to put the possible switch behind him and replicate the form which brought him 16 goals last season. "There’s no doubt he will.
"Footballers are resilient. I’m amazed how sometimes they get disappointments and you expect them to be chin down and not to play, but he’s not been like that at all.
"The biggest thing for me was that he actually didn’t want to go in the first place. He wasn’t looking to move, he was happy, his family are down here, he was fine and then somebody throws a spanner in the works and that changes it. He’s fine, he’s been great this week.”
While September’s fixtures look less tough than August’s, at least on paper, McCarthy says he’s not looking at them any differently.
"I think every game is significant, not any month in general,” he added. "I think we only had four points at this stage last term. You’ve just got to put wins together, results together and the sooner we do it, the better.”