Boss Paul Jewell says striker Connor Wickham has all the tools to be a top player but believes it’s important not to put too much pressure on him while he is still a baby in footballing terms. Wickham, 17, played the full 90 minutes as Town lost Jewell’s first game in charge 2-1 at Millwall on Saturday.

The new manager said: “I think we have to be careful not to hype him up. He’s got all the tools, all the attributes. But he’s learning the game, he’s a baby in terms of football.

“He’s got a bright future ahead of him, we’ve just got to make sure we work with him on the training ground day-in and day-out, he gets experience and we don’t put too much expectation or pressure on him."

Jewell says he doesn't think the England U21 international is currently being affected by the weight of expectation: “I don’t think he feels the pressure. He had flashes of what he was capable of [at Millwall]. But he’s a young player and they’re up and down. He’s got a bright future ahead of him and hopefully he can score us a few goals and become even better.”

Physically, the new boss says Wickham has everything required: “He is a special one. He’s a great shape, he’s got good legs. As I say, he’s got all the tools, but for Connor’s sake, it’s not fair on him for us to keep building him up because like any young player he will go through phases of inconsistency, but he’s got all the tools there.

“The experience he’s getting at the moment will keep him in good stead, but we’d like to be winning games.”

Wickham, who is contracted to the Blues until the summer of 2012 but has been linked with all the top Premier League clubs at some point over the last couple of years, turns 18 on March 31st when he would be able to agree a further deal at Town.

Photo: Action Images

bluelady added 09:01 - Jan 18 http://www.football-rumours.co.uk/ipswich-rumours.php some wicket rumours on this website! BUT there is a lot of talk in various forums of Delaney going to Burnley, has anyone else heard that? Maybe that is why Keane wanted to retain O'Dea and Jewell has stuck with that?
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Hunter added 09:04 - Jan 18 Wickham Legend!!!
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Effie added 09:10 - Jan 18 Is there a danger he might score?
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BrettenhamBlue added 09:10 - Jan 18 Could do with a old hand as a mentor to guide him. Sometimes think a 30-something striker who has done the rounds (like Kevin Phillips) would help Priskin, Wickham and Scotland to improve their game. That website is a rumour nightmare, but I've heard the Delaney (Burnley), McCauley (Glas Rangers) and Norris (Norwich) rumours elsewhere. Bad if we lost all 3 and signs of complete mismanagement from Clegg.

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bluelady added 09:14 - Jan 18 thankKeaneisaGod, took it all with a pinch of salt, but the Delaney one keeps coming up. I personally think big Mac will go and Norris will stay. I think Jewell will manage to convince clegg of his captains worth - we wont get a lot for him but would cost a fortune to replace (if that makes sense)
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BrettenhamBlue added 09:22 - Jan 18 Hope you are right bluelady, it would turn my stomach to see David Norris running out of the tunnel in a yellow and green shirt. Shame to lose McCauley and Delaney, especially so cheaply.
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petermorris added 09:22 - Jan 18 I really hope PJ & Hutch can get that missing extra out of all of our players. Consistency, trust and intelligence is what they need. I get the feeling we've moved on from knee jerk management. Talking of knee jerk management decisions and strikers, this one will come back and bite us: http://www.examiner.co.uk/huddersfield-town-fc/huddersfield-town-news/2011/01/18 But as I've learned on here, you mustn't believe what you read in newspapers — he's probably crap.

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petermorris added 09:24 - Jan 18 My stomach churns when I see anyone in a gr++n & y+llow shirt, let alone our captain!
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BrettenhamBlue added 09:25 - Jan 18 petermorris,- we all knew this when he left. One of the few early decisions of Keane that I and most on the site completely disagreed with.
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BrettenhamBlue added 09:27 - Jan 18 That was in response to previous post in case confused!
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bluelady added 09:34 - Jan 18 but guys he didnt want to stay. it was all to do with his dad leaving as goalkeeping coach, no manager could have retained Jordon he did not want to play for us. Also do agree with other posts he is banging them in at league one, but are Man U, Spurs etc banging on his door as they are Wickhams? Think we probably need to just move on from this now, more pressing concerns re. current team.

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petermorris added 09:37 - Jan 18 I can't move on. I'm damaged.
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bluelady added 09:39 - Jan 18 petermorris so are most supporters after the last twenty months!!!! I still miss John Stead he had a cute smile, the counseller sais i will get over it though :-)
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dirtydingusmagee added 09:48 - Jan 18 No disrespect ,but i wsh we could put JR leaving behind us and move on .We must look forward not back now.Hopefully we will beat Doncaster and settle the jitters on and off pitch. Jewel will do better finding players to bring in than Keane im sure, I hope Big Mac stays, but have to admit it looks doubtful now.
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imalwayswrong added 09:53 - Jan 18 Bluelady, I expect this is where alot of the lazy journo's find there stories! Some of the links would be good for town, I did see Jan Koller linked couple times, now Koller could show wickham how to be finished product.
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bluelady added 10:19 - Jan 18 Imalwayswrong, thing is i believe all the good stuff and disgregarde the likes of big Mac etc leaving! wrong eh!
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PhilTWTD added 10:26 - Jan 18 bluelady That's not true re Rhodes, he very much wanted to stay here, he had to be all but forced out the door. His family were still based here with his dad commuting up to his new job.
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Seasonticketsteve added 10:49 - Jan 18 Nice to see Jewell trying to take the pressure of Wickham. I think each game he is getting slowly and slowly better and its only a matter of time before a goal goes in for him. I sit around alot of people at Portman Road who unjustly give Wickham alot of stick and say he is overated. The lad is going to be a class act and the most important word there is GOING to be, the lad is only 17 and like Paul Jewell, he needs time to iron out the errors in his game. I think a run of games on the wing is what he needs to maybe iron some of those out-a bit like what Wenger did with Henry or what he is doing with Walcott. As for the Rhodes debate, many strikers can bang goals in at League 1/2 level, its a whole different level in the Championship and it will be intersting to see if Huddersfield get promoted, whether Rhodes could possibly do it next season. All that I know is that he has gone and we are better off looking forward rather than back. UTT

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bluelady added 11:09 - Jan 18 phil TWTD then i appologise i clearly got it wrong! I was told by a friend of his family that the decision to move was a political one and that his father was not happy with him staying at town. Clearly not. Once again sorry! That said i still think people need to move on, he has gone and harping on about it will not bring him back or change anything! its a new era and we need to look forward not back.

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PhilTWTD added 11:28 - Jan 18 bluelady I think you're right about people needing to move on, as much as I would have liked to have seen him progress into the first team here.
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bluelady added 11:37 - Jan 18 agree totally Phil, sad thing is he would probably fit into a jewell type team, not sure he would have been very good at the long ball type game we have been playing so may well have stunted his development by staying instead going down a league has given him a massive confidence lift.
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bluediver added 12:06 - Jan 18 I am also sick of reading about Jordan Rhodes. At the time, there was a hint that we couldn't keep all the young players. It appeared to be a choice between the potential of Wickham - who was relatively unknown outside the club despite being a youth international - or Rhodes - who had put away several goals whilst out on loan. Wickham would have attracted very little in terms of a fee whereas Rhodes had a decent value put on him by Huddersfield. Decision - take the money. Fair enough imho. Also, at one time Rhodes was joint top scorer in League one with a certain Mr Lisbie and Nicky Forster. How many Town fans would be screaming for those two to be here? Case proven. End of. Get over it! PLEASE!

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dirtydingusmagee added 13:45 - Jan 18 with Wickham ,i think he gets flac due to being the size he is,people forget his age,if he was half handy and half the size people would accept it,.It is counter productive to keep refering to him as being some sort of super player be it now or future.
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Back_The_Boss added 13:53 - Jan 18 Sell him! Not scored for us this season. £10 million and you can have him. COYB!
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Dolly2.0 added 14:18 - Jan 18 bluediver That's not case proven at all. Case will be proven one way or the other when he plays at Championship level for an extended length of time, which hasn't happened yet. He's been prolific at every level, so I don't know why 'experts' on here assert that he won't cut it at the next level. bluelady - maybe get your facts straight before posting them on the internet. People keep spreading this silly rumour that Rhodes wanted to leave and Phil keeps having to correct it. It gets tiresome.

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