Town boss Mick McCarthy says central defender Tommy Smith took his decision to leave him out of the starting XI for Saturday’s season opener against Barnsley like “the ultimate pro”. Smith, 26, has been a regular throughout McCarthy’s time at Portman Road but missed out with the naturally right-sided Adam Webster having been brought in from Portsmouth over the summer.
The Blues manager admits it was a very tough to decide which of his left-footed centre-halves to omit with Christophe Berra ultimately getting the nod.
"Maybe a toss of a coin, Christophe played with Webster in the first half of the Royale Union Saint-Gilloise game and played well,” McCarthy said.
"It was almost a toss-up, not quite. It was a really tough call, one which I had to make. I’d been wanting a right-sided centre-back, I actually told the lads that the back four would be the same because I thought Adam wouldn’t be fit.
"But he was fit and I think he’ll ultimately make a difference to us. I think he’s impressed everybody since he’s come in.”
He says Smith, who recently signed a new three-year contract at Town, will be champing at the bit ahead of tonight’s EFL Cup tie against Stevenage: "Absolutely. There’s Diggers as well, who is also playing.
"There are three real tried and tested centre-backs there, who have played a lot in the leagues now.
"And it could be any of the two of them. Adam, he’s seeing a difference already with the pace of the league and how it’s played. He might not play all the games and I know I can play Tommy and Bez.
"I’ve got options, it would be worse if I’d only got two of them. It’s not easy making the decision, but what was really good was Tommy Smith made my conversation with him pretty easy because he accepted it and he knows he’ll get his chance, he knows he’ll play throughout the season.
"He was the ultimate pro, came in ready to play on Saturday and he’ll be ready to play on Tuesday.”
McCarthy says naming a strong defence - he has confirmed that skipper Luke Chambers will be at right-back and Jonas Knudsen on the left - will benefit the fringe players coming into the side.
"I really want to play Tommy, he was always going to play having left him out on Saturday,” he added.
"And Diggers, that’s the back four that played at Middlesbrough, so they’re no mugs, that’s for sure, having recorded a clean sheet up there.
"Whatever changes I’ve made in front, I think it gives them a solid base from which to play because sometimes I’ve changed everything and there’s no base to start with.
"Some players come in and it’s an unfair playing field for them. They’re coming in and are playing without a solid base.
"Well, anybody in front of them, Conor Grant, Doz, Grant Ward coming in to play, at least they’ve got a really solid base behind them from which to play.”
McCarthy expects those players who are coming into the team this evening, such as Andre Dozzell and Paul Digby, will have parts to play in the Championship over the course of the season.
"They will be because currently we’ve got 20 in the squad,” he said. "I’m adding them up in terms of players I’ve got available to me that you can say are first-team players.
"And then there are some on the periphery, who have had a few games like Doz, Adam McDonnell, James Blanchfield and Josh Emmanuel and Myles Kenlock, who have had bit parts but not those that have had a hundred games.
"You could even include Conor Grant in that and Grant Ward. Grant had a great season last year at Rotherham but has not got that vast experience.
"So, all the ones who are playing and some of them that aren’t need to be ready to go because we’re going to need them.”
This evening’s bench is likely to feature players such as Emmanuel, Kenlock, Ben Morris and Joe Robinson, who like Dozzell have come through the academy.
McCarthy says Bryan Klug and his staff are doing an excellent job: "From recruitment to coaching them, all the staff that they work with, whatever age groups they are.
"It’s great because most of them have been involved with the club for a long time and, as we’ve seen, Mark Kennedy’s left so Gerard Nash has stepped up to the U21s, Chris Hogg has moved up [to work with Alan Lee coaching the U18s], Duncan Wheeler’s moved up.
"It’s nice to see them progressing through the ranks. And I do believe in promoting from within because they come here and do the U8s and U9s and U10s, that’s not quite cutting your teeth with the first team.
"I think it’s great that they can all progress through the club. As we say now, they have a career path, as I think they call it.”