Town boss Mick McCarthy insists he has no regrets that he didn’t do more business during the January transfer window, despite now being short of midfield players with Ryan Fraser, Cole Skuse and Giles Coke all ruled out for lengthy periods, Jonathan Douglas suspended and Luke Hyam a doubt for tomorrow's match at Bristol City.
Fraser will be sidelined for six to eight weeks with his hamstring injury, while Skuse has a toe problem that will see him out for four to six weeks, while Coke’s knee will seem him miss the next month’s fixtures.
Douglas will serve the final game of his three-match ban at Ashton Gate, while Hyam is back in training after missing last week's match at QPR with a calf problem and will be assessed today.
The Blues’ only signings during January were the addition of free agent Kevin Foley as a direct replacement for Jonny Parr, who joined Strømsgodset, and the loan of youngster Paul Digby from Barnsley.
"I wasn’t going to get anybody to come and cover for Cole Skuse - ‘Please come and be a sub ready for Cole to get injured’,” McCarthy said.
"And likewise with Ryan Fraser. I looked at options then and anybody would say ‘Am I going to play because Ryan Fraser’s playing on that side?’.
"There wasn’t a chance, nobody was coming to be second fiddle to him. That was difficult but maybe now I can say ‘Right, you can come, you’re going to play’, that’s a different ball game.”
He added: "I had it this week. I was trying to take a player and the first question the manager asked was ‘Are you going to play him?’ and I said ‘He’ll be playing on Saturday’, and he’s still not coming anyway!”
McCarthy repeatedly said he was happy with his squad prior to the window closing.
"That was before somebody went round with a machine gun and a chainsaw and sawed them all up, I was fine!” he added. "I was, absolutely, but it’s changed just because of injuries.
"That’s tough but I’m not going to whinge about it, we’ll get on with it and I tend to try and make do with what we’ve got.
"We all want a bit of help and the players will be the same because we all want to be as good as we can. What I do know is that anybody that has to play on Saturday will be a very motivated to play.”
The Town boss says he hasn’t ruled out targeting youngsters from Premier League clubs on loan as cover for the injuries as well as experienced Championship performers in the mould of Ben Pringle, who is set to confirm his loan today.
"Yes, I would, if we’re at full tilt with all our squad in, the ones that you would say are regulars,” he said.
"I think it’s different then, bringing one in and slotting a youngster in, even one of our youngsters.
"If suddenly you’ve got three or four injuries and you’ve got to go outside of what’s been the tried and tested first team and you bring a youngster in, I ask myself the question, ’Is that fair to him? Are we going to see him at his best playing in a team that’s suddenly been decimated by injuries?’.
"That might not be fair to him and it might not be fair to my lads either that are coming in, that there’s a youngster that’s not got Championship experience. It’s a different league, believe me.”
He says any fringe players that do come in on Saturday will be up to the challenge: "We keep them all motivated and ready to play. It’s important that, and that’s why if they do get a chance to play they all train hard and they’re ready to go.
"We’ll work something out for Saturday and then hopefully we will then have Luke Hyam back.
"He may well be available yet, he went through his training today and we’ll see how he reacts tomorrow and then [after this weekend] we’ll have Jonathan Douglas back and that certainly strengthens my hand.”