Town boss Mick McCarthy says he has no qualms about starting Josh Emmanuel against Nottingham Forest on Saturday and would have no concerns about playing the 19-year-old for the rest of the season. Emmanuel will come into the team at right-back with skipper Luke Chambers moving to the centre of the defence for Adam Webster, who has a hamstring injury.
"I’ve got no qualms about Josh at all, I’d hang my hat on him,” McCarthy said. "If he had to go and play for the rest of the season, it wouldn’t faze me at all.
"And likewise with Myles Kenlock, I’d be exactly the same. The two of them have been great.
"They can both play, they’re both durable and tough and physically able to cope with it as well, they’re two good full-backs.”
He added: "Josh has just signed a new contract [until the summer of 2019 with an option for a further season] and I really do think he’s a first-team player. He trains every day with us and he never ever looks out of place. He’s playing on Saturday.”
If the Londoner does well in what will be his ninth senior start for the Blues, in addition to three sub appearances for Town and one start and one game from the bench for former loan club Crawley, could he keep his place?
"It’ll be interesting that because whatever we do, if we win and Josh plays well and Chambo plays well with that back four but Webbo’s back for QPR, you’ll be asking me what a big decision I’ve got to make to put Webbo back in.
"Just let him play well and let’s hope we win the game and then that gives me a problem.”
So far Emmanuel has made way when one of the more regular defenders has returned to fitness of from suspension, but McCarthy realises that the one-time West Ham schoolboy will ultimately want to cement his place in the team.
"He’s been very good and he’s accepted that,” the Town manager continued. "But he won’t accept that forever, not if he comes in and plays really well.
"But who’s to say that I will just change it if we win the game. Or we don’t win the game, whatever it might be. Chambo’s played at centre-half for long enough.
"Just be ready to play is my message to any of them, but what’s nice about the lads is that none of them have been sulking, I think they all realise that there are first-teamers in front of them.
"They’re desperate to get in but they appreciate where they are in the pecking order and where they are in their careers, but they're ambitious all of them.”