Town boss Mick McCarthy is pleased with the impact January signing Freddie Sears has made since joining the club from Colchester in January and the progress 18-year-old academy product Teddy Bishop has made this season.
Regarding Sears, who has scored four goals in seven starts and five sub appearances for the Blues, McCarthy said: "I’ve been delighted. I think he’s been a really good signing for us. And I think there’s more to come from Freddie, he’s getting better and better."
The Blues boss says he could envisage using the 25-year-old in a front three with Daryl Murphy and David McGoldrick at some point in the future, once the latter is finally over his thigh problem.
"I don’t see why not,” he added. "We did that with Murph, Conor Sammon and Didzy. I don’t see why not but I don’t see any reason to be looking to do it as yet.
"I think Daryl and Freddie have been a really good partnership. I think they’re playing well together.”
Bishop, who broke into the side early on in the season having made his debut as a sub in the Capital One Cup defeat at Crawley, again impressed at Middlesbrough on Saturday.
"Ted’s a proper player,” McCarthy continued. "I think I’ve waxed lyrical about him before.
"But the other side of that is all the other jobs that we have to do. That’s defending corners, making sure you do your jobs properly and there were a lot of little things there and Teddy was part of it.
"But despite that, I thought he was terrific on Saturday, as did everybody else, I think. Including their manager again.”
He says Bishop would have made his debut on the final day of last season but for injury: "He was pushing last year. He would have got his debut when we went to Burnley, I’d have played him but he was injured.
"And sadly he’s had a few this season but he looks fitter and stronger and he’s doing really well.”