Town midfielder Jonathan Douglas is confident that Freddie Sears will end his long goal drought soon and says the 26-year-old does “sensational” work for the team.
Sears last scored a competitive goal after 16 seconds of the 2-1 win at Fulham in December, 34 matches ago, although he was on target in the pre-season friendly at Shelbourne in July.
Echoing comments made by manager Mick McCarthy after Saturday’s game, Douglas said: "The work Freddie does for us, on and off the ball, is sensational. It is only a matter of time before he scores again.
"He has been playing in a position that perhaps has meant he has not had the chances he could have. Freddie has done what’s asked for the team and it is about the team.”
Reflecting on Saturday’s goalless draw with Aston Villa, the former Republic of Ireland international said: "We are pleased with a clean sheet. We work hard on the training field to stop teams scoring, we had chances towards the end, we just needed that bit of luck to score.
"Villa were a good test. They have spent a lot of money since coming down from the Premier League and will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.
"They have not had the start they would have wanted. The Championship is a very tough division and it has probably taken a few of their players some time to adjust.”
The 34-year-old feels Town have done well in their opening eight games of the season and haven’t always got the points they have deserved.
"Our performances overall have been pretty good and we can be pleased with that,” he said.
"We probably just haven’t had the luck we have needed at times. People say it evens itself out over a season, so hopefully it will.”
Douglas wasn’t surprised full debutant Tom Lawrence made a big impression on Saturday: "Tom is a very good player. He sees a pass and gives us a little bit of magic up front. He worked his socks off and will be a big signing for us.”