Boss Mick McCarthy believes Town’s regular 4-3-3 formation should suit new loan signing Noel Hunt. The 31-year-old, the younger brother of Blues winger Stephen, has joined from Leeds until January with a view to a permanent move.
"The Hunt sisters are fit and well, they’ve been getting pelters today, the pair of them,” McCarthy joked.
"Noel, I think it was here that he fractured his back and he’s a bit of trouble since with his hamstring and other things.
"But he’s been fit since March and he’s not had a look-in. He’s played in the last six U21 games for Leeds, I believe.
"He’s fit and when he’s fit he’s a real handful, he’s a good player. I’m delighted to get him down here.”
He added: "I would say Noel Hunt can do the 4-3-3 with three strikers, there’s no question about that. He’s got great experience, he’s a very good Championship player and who knows what will happen between now and Christmas.
"We’re OK at the minute, but you get a couple of injuries and suddenly you’re scratching around and wondering whether you’ve got anybody for the bench. You can’t have enough strikers.”
Hunt joined Leeds in the summer of 2013, following his former Reading manager Brian McDermott to Elland Road, but his time in Yorkshire hasn’t gone well with the striker failing to score in 14 starts and eight for the Whites.
McCarthy says speculation regarding his wage also didn’t do the Ireland international any favours: "Part of the reason might be that somebody announced that he was on £25,000 a week at Leeds and apparently he can’t walk down a street in Leeds because they turn on him and give out to him.
"That’s not helped him at all. And he wasn’t actually, he was on £24,950! No, he was on nowhere near that.
"Somebody, I think it was the new owner, said it before the takeover and it’s really had a detrimental effect on him and his career at Leeds.
"I saw him play against Leicester in one of the first games of last season and he was outstanding. If we get him to that form, and let’s hope we can, we’ve got a really good player.”
McCarthy says the Waterford-born frontman or wide player will come straight into his thoughts despite his lack of first-team games: "He strikes me as a bit like his brother, who came and hadn’t had any training and went up to Blackpool [and made his debut last season] and then last month had three games in a week and could cope with it no problem.
"I think he’s fine, he’s trained today and he looks pretty good and he’ll be in the squad for Saturday.”
Regarding his brother, McCarthy added: "I asked him this morning, I said ‘Are you as bonkers as your brother?’ and he said he didn’t know! I said ‘Whatever you are, if you’re like Hunty we’ll love you because we love Stephen, he’s fantastic’.”
Photo: ITFC