Town defender Adam Webster has revealed how manager Mick McCarthy encourages him to bring the ball out from the back.
There is more than a passing resemblance between Webster and John Stones, the one-time Championship defender from Barnsley who is now an England regular after finding his way to Manchester City via Everton.
Webster, a summer signing from Portsmouth in a £750,000 deal that also saw Matt Clarke move in the opposite direction, said: "The manager is definitely encouraging me to do it. He’s always said I have to pick the right moments but if it’s on he wants me to do it because he knows I can do it. It’s something that I definitely look to bring to my game.
"He always says to me ‘You can do it, of course you can, but you’ve just got to pick the right time. You need to know when it’s on and when it isn’t. Sometimes you might have to boot it, other times you will be able to break out with the ball and bring others into play’.”
Webster, 21, caught the eye in Town’s 0-0 stalemate at Blackburn on Saturday when he seized his chance to venture forward from the back. He added: "A couple of times it opened up for me and that’s what I like. My eyes light up when that happens but back at the start of the season it didn’t really work like that.
"The games weren’t as open but in the last few I have played in I’ve managed to break out with the ball a few times. It’s pleasing for me that I can do that.”
But Webster was every bit as frustrated as his team-mates and the travelling supporters at Ewood Park. He said: "We were all a bit gutted about the result. We played well and created a lot of chances but we were gutted that we just couldn’t get the goal and the three points.
"We did more than enough to win the game — they didn’t really cause us any problems — and hopefully we can take that performance into the Burton game on Tuesday and get the win that we need and we all want.”
Asked how he rated his display at Blackburn, he responded: "I’m a bit annoyed because I should have scored. The keeper made a good save but it was the only place, really, that he could have saved it. Hopefully my first goal will come soon as well.
"I thought I played well but to be fair we’ve been very good defensively this season — six clean sheets out of 12 and that’s one of the best records in the Championship. That’s always pleasing.
"I wouldn’t say we look to keep a certain number of clean sheets in so many games but before every game we are telling each other ‘Come on, let’s get a clean sheet today’ and we’ve managed to do it in half our league games, including four of the last six.
"Hopefully we can keep it up and things will turn with us getting some wins on the board.”