Blues boss Paul Jewell has praised young striker Connor Wickham for his performances in an unfamiliar wide role but says he may have to rest the 17-year-old at some point. Wickham has played Town's last 14 matches, his longest run in the first team.

Jewell said: “He’s playing in an unglamorous position, he’s like a water carrier, fetching and carrying up and down the line.

“He and Lee Martin are doing a great job for the team, swapping wings and giving the opposition problems.

“This is the longest run of football he’s had in one hit, obviously because he’s only 17, and it’s a tough league out there.

“I don’t want you to feel sorry for him but we might have to give him the odd breather here and there, but we’ll see about that.”

Jewell has confirmed that Wickham, who has won England U19 and U21 caps this season, will be involved in this evening's game against Reading, the club where he was an academy scholar before joining the Blues.

Photo: Action Images

Moscow_Blue added 08:43 - Mar 8 I am not criticising but ask Russell Osman what a long run of games is.
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legoman added 08:45 - Mar 8 Play Mr Priskin in the same roll?
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Jnr1988 added 08:56 - Mar 8 Legoman- Priskin hates being out wide he would rather play through the middle. Maybe give Shane a run at some point.
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Nazemariner added 09:17 - Mar 8 Why not give Civelli a game?
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kevlowestoft added 09:21 - Mar 8 He can have a rest in the summer. The boys a man mountain and his fitness levels shouldnt come into question. He is being paid a top wage and needs and WANTS to play. Under Keane no-one wanted to play but all are now happy, hungry and desperate to part of something good. Keane = T.W.A.T Jewell = Jewell to bring us the Crown
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campowasgod added 09:42 - Mar 8 14 games ?!? no sweat for a 17 yo mountain. Should play him up front. left mid can be filled by Peters , O'connor , Civelli ,Martin ,Norris or Dos Santos.
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bluecrossy added 10:27 - Mar 8 Reggie Lambe?
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NorthstaNder added 10:29 - Mar 8 @ campowasgod Dos Santos has left mate. Some while ago actually, and now plays in Spain. As for giving Wickham a rest!? Ridiculous...he's an athlete and should be able to play every day! I never understand when footballers are "rested". It obviously means they're not fit enough.
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ITFCenFrance added 12:04 - Mar 8 @NorthstaNder: In defence of campowasgod, I think he's probably, just maybe aware that Dos Santos is no longer at our club and that he hasn't been for a while. It's never a great idea to take things too literally, old chum. Regarding giving Wickham a rest, I think people who say 'He's young, he can play a game every day of the week' etc etc are massively missing the point. Hard as it is to believe when we look at him, given his enormous frame, he is still only a teenager and his body will still be developing. He's not having a kick about down the park, he's competing against experienced, adult athletes. It could therefore do more harm than good to over-play him at this stage of his career and, indeed, life. He may want to play 90 minutes of every game, but I'm pretty sure that the staff (management, physios etc) may know a bit more than we do about these things. Luckily the squad has a bit of depth and cover nowadays, so no reason not to sit Wickham out once in a while.

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CanadianBlue added 14:13 - Mar 8 Pretty much what ITFCenFrance said, re: Wickham resting. The physical demands of football can be highly damaging when played constantly at a high level. He may be able to play constantly now but even in ten years time, he'll be suffering with joint/muscle problems. Take a look at Owen for how a youth shouldn't be playing first team football constantly at such a young age (Owen averaged around 30 league games a season). When was the last time you saw Owen on the back pages without the word "injured" included?

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bluecrossy added 15:45 - Mar 8 If Jewell does choose to give him a rest, probably the most sensible option would be to push Edwards up to right wing and play Peters at right back.
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brian_a_mul added 15:53 - Mar 8 Im not against resting wickham or any player at times. He had a slight strain towards the end of Cardiff game. To expect any player that is not 100% fit to play 3 games in a week is asking alot and running the risk of injury. Realistically we dont want any of our key players picking up serious injuries unnecessarily if all they need is a rest. Some players/positions are higher risk than others. At the moment Martin and Wickham fall in to this bracket with the high tempo efforts required for boming up and down the wings all game long. I think resting Wickham for O Connor wouldnt be a bad thing. Same for Martin and Cevilli. We have a squad for this reason.

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Youth added 17:02 - Mar 8 Hes 17 he doesnt need resting! when i was 17 i was out on a saturday at 7pm and back in at 7am sunday with my dancing shoes still on! haha not the same am sure but after all that dancing was like playing 90 minutes twice! haha Good luck for tonight lads pleasure to watch yous over the last few weeks... P.s Connor if you score a hattrick tonight you can have the first half of saturdays match off on us!

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