Luke Chambers has hailed the impact of his younger Town colleagues and backed them to thrive on the pressure that is sure to mount as the season progresses.
Chambers, 29, singled out team-mates Teddy Bishop and Tyrone Mings, as well as the more experienced Tommy Smith, for special praise and with tongue firmly planted in cheek he grinned: "Teddy really struggled a bit against Middlesbrough on Saturday, didn’t he?”
The 18-year-old midfielder not only enjoyed top marks in several newspaper accounts of his side’s 2-0 success, he was also singled out as the man of the match by opposition head coach Aitor Karanka.
Chambers added: "The young boys have been brilliant and Tommy seems to be going from strength to strength. He found himself out of the team earlier in the season but he’s a brilliant professional to come back in and keep on improving. Ever since I came to the club he’s improved, with every game in my opinion.
"If he continues to play the way he is right now there are going to be teams sniffing round him and I can’t see why no one is looking at Christophe at the minute. The lads are performing to the top levels of their abilities and you’ve got Tyrone and Teddy, who people are talking about all the time.
"That’s inevitable with their age and the fact they are playing every week for a team in the top six of the Championship. Bish will handle it no problem. He’s been a great lad and settled in with the boys straight away. The lads love him and he’s producing the goods for us at the moment.
"How far can he go? The sky’s the limit for me because he’s one of the best young players I’ve seen. I’d like to keep it quiet really but the secret’s out now.
"He was playing against [Adam] Clayton and [Grant] Leadbitter on Saturday and he came out on top. Those two have been at the top level of the Championship, remember, for the last five or six years.
"If Bish keeps playing every week, which he is doing here, and continues to learn from the experienced boys he has a great career ahead of him.
"It’s only a matter of time, hopefully, before we make it to the top level and he can come with us. He loves being on the ball and as soon as I have it I look for him. You know what he is going to produce and he can get out of some tight situations.
"Every time he gets the ball his first thought is to go forward. Maybe that’s something we were lacking in the last couple of seasons.
"We’ve been very solid in that time but he has given us that something extra. It’s the same with Mingsy stepping in for Cressy and giving us an extra dimension with his pace going forward.
"We seem to have more options going forward, playing with two wide men, and everyone is playing really well. But you never know in the Championship what’s round the corner, ready to slap you on the proverbial, so we’re not going to get carried away.
"We’re going to enjoy every minute because I’ve learned as I’ve got older that there’s always a setback round the corner and it’s about how you handle them and react to all the other ups and downs of football that will determine how successful you are.”