Boss Mick McCarthy believes the Blues' current position firmly in the promotion push makes them a more attractive proposition to potential new signings, such as Noel Hunt and Sean St Ledger, who joined the club yesterday. Hunt, 31, has signed on loan from Leeds until January 3rd, while free agent St Ledger, 29, penned a one-month deal.
"I hope so," McCarthy said. "Me as a player, if I’d seen a team doing well I’d be attracted to the fact that they’re doing well.
"They know a lot of the lads here as well, the lads who have been in the Irish squad.
"And I think they know it’s a good place and that things are done properly, people are treated properly and we’re doing well too at the moment. That certainly helps.”
The Town boss believes his new additions are top end players at this level: "I think there are Championship players and there are some good Championship players and I think they come into the second bracket.
"Both have got good characters. Sean St Ledger played nearly every game for Giovanni Trapattoni when he was manager of Ireland.
"Now, if that’s not a ringing endorsement of a defender from an Italian, then I don’t know what is.
"Hunty, I’ve played against him, I’ve seen him play in a number of teams.
"They’re good players, good characters, they’re prepared to work hard. If they’re not prepared to work, they don’t come here.”
McCarthy says the pair have come in to battle for places in the side rather than just waiting in the background and only being called upon if there are injuries or suspensions.
"You can have them where they’re a pain in the arse and they’re hanging around and they’re never going to play, that’s a different ball game altogether,” he added.
"If you’ve just got a big squad and there are people who are not going to play and I don’t want them to be involved in the team unless there are three or four injuries, then that could be a problem.
"But if I’ve got players pushing, as they all are, it’s different. Tommy Smith gets out of the team and comes back in and plays as well as he’s done.
"The likes of Noel Hunt and Sean St Ledger are both quality players at this level, who will be pushing all the time to play and that’s great. I don’t just want a big squad of players who aren’t going to play.”
He says players coming into the club have to be the right characters to fit into the squad he has built over the last two years: "They have to, if they don’t then they won’t be involved.
"I don’t know the two of them particularly well personally, but I know of them through my experience in football and coming across them, playing against me, their personalities, and other people have known them. They will fit in, they already have, they’re great.”