Town boss Mick McCarthy says every team needs a player like Cole Skuse, who scored a brilliant first Blues goal in Tuesday’s 3-1 home victory over Cardiff City. McCarthy also has praise for Stephen Hunt, who has yet to suffer a defeat when starting for the Blues in the league this season.
"I believe every team needs one and I think most have,” McCarthy said of 28-year-old Skuse. "Manchester United are at their best if it’s Michael Carrick who’s the one doing the sitting, the holding, the fetching, the carrying, the organising, the defending.
"And, of course, one of the best ones was Didier Deschamps, the water carrier, as Cantona called him, which I’m not sure whether is a derogatory term or a complimentary one.
"I’d prefer it to be a complimentary one because they’re the ones who’ll be in your team, week in, week out, day in, day out, penned in, certainties and then some of the others bring the flair to it. That comes in fits and starts but consistency is the key to any successful team.”
McCarthy has taken care to sign players like Skuse, who aren’t just talented footballers but are good characters as well.
"You can get enough problems as a manager without bringing them in,” he added. "Fortunately, or maybe I’m a good judge of character, it doesn’t take me long to judge them and we have a good scouting system.
"We do bring good players and good people in and I think that’s important because it does reflect on the club, it reflects on the town how the players are.”
He added: "They’re good people first and foremost, good players, hard-working, with a really good professional outlook on it and they certainly try and do their best every day.
"I think if you’ve got that and you can have a sprinkling of all the nice stuff in football, the silky skills and talented players, which we’ve got as well, but it starts, I think, with really hard work and a good, professional grounding.”
Meanwhile, he says winger Stephen Hunt hasn’t been shy in pointing out Town’s excellent record when he’s started games this season.
Tuesday’s victory over Cardiff was the Irishman’s ninth league start, eight of which have ended in wins, one in a draw.
"He keeps telling me!” McCarthy laughed. "He’s got a better memory than me, I couldn’t remember all that.
"It’s always interesting, that. I deal with however many players in a season and they’ll come to me and tell me something of them or something I’ve said to them or something that’s happened, something that somebody’s done.
"I’m pretty good at recalling what I say to people but it’s individual to them so they know, they understand and remember and they look at their own stats, they’re very good at that.
"I like that about him. He’s very diligent. What I also like about him is what he gives me on the pitch which is unbelievable desire and hard work.
"He’s infectious. Whenever he’s played he makes others around him play and I don’t think other people like playing against him because of what he does.
"From walking through the door when he made his debut at Blackpool [last season], he’s been a breath of fresh air, he’s terrific. But that record still doesn’t affect his contract talks at the end of the season!”
Hunt has admitted that he can be a bit of a pest when he’s not playing but, while agreeing, McCarthy says he’s very much a team player, even when he’s out of the side.
"He was if he wasn’t playing, and even more so at Wolves because he was probably five years younger," McCarthy joked.
"He’s been injured quite a bit but he just wants to play, he wants to be involved, but what’s lovely about Hunty is that when he’s not involved he’s still in the dressing room geeing the lads up and still wanting them to win.
"That is great. That’s what I mean about having good players and good pros, people who care about the club and each other.
"And that’s a really good quality that. He’s still in there, he still wants them to win, he’s not sitting outside sulking. We don’t have many of them, to be honest.”