Town star Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has admitted he still has a lot to learn about the defensive side of his game.

The former Arsenal youngster has been praised for his work in recent weeks, tracking back to avert danger down the flanks as Paul Jewell’s men put together a four-game winning streak prior to last week’s 3-0 defeat at Brighton.

Emmanuel-Thomas, 21, said: “Down at Brighton, overall, I thought our performance wasn’t bad. We played quite well but obviously we couldn’t score and we couldn’t stop them from scoring, so it was quite frustrating.

“The experience can be quite draining. We have to stop conceding such soft goals. I would far rather we conceded unbelievable goals knowing we couldn’t do anything about preventing them than letting in the soft ones.”

The young Londoner is pleased to be holding down a regular place in the side but as a forward-thinking player he makes no attempt to disguise the fact that defending doesn’t come naturally.

He added: “I am such an attacking player that I seem to lack concentration more than orthodox defenders do. In defensive areas I feel it quite a bit. It’s a transformation for me.

“The manager expects me to try to stop the opposition full-back getting involved in the game. Recently I’ve been doing that quite well and hopefully I can keep it going. I have a good relationship with Carlos on and off the pitch. We get along really well and that definitely helps.”

Stand-in skipper Edwards recently sang the praises of his younger colleague for his support at the back as Town kept successive clean sheets at Portsmouth and at home to Cardiff, although having so far leaked 60 league goals no one is forgetting that the club boast the worst defensive record in the Championship.

Nevertheless, Emmanuel-Thomas said: “We want to end the season on a high and push as high up the league as we can. Next season we will be looking to make a good start and stay in and around the top of the league right through to the end.”

Photo: Action Images

Photo: Action Images

Sindre94 added 15:23 - Mar 2 Hes honest and he sums himself up quite well. I believe what he says about him lackiong the natural defending skills, but hes a big and pacey lad so it should be possible for him to perform better at that part of the game. Hopefully 3 points tomorrow, and jet with a cracking longshot!! COYB
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Garv added 15:57 - Mar 2 Is he pacey? News to me if I'm honest.
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ElephantBlue added 16:57 - Mar 2 Garv its his long legs, they makes him look slow as he only has to take 2 steps to cover the ground a normal man would take 10 steps to do.
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Sindre94 added 17:38 - Mar 2 haha, yes hes quick, didnt u see against leeds when white got sent off?
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rosseden added 19:32 - Mar 2 its a funny one, when he runs he reminds me of liam trotter, also a big lump of a lad, and far quicker than i ever realised. must be something to do with their size..... they just dont appear to be going fact when they are!
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michaeldownunder added 22:41 - Mar 2 When you watch him play you can see he has been schooled in the Arsenal style of play. close control, short passes between defenders and plays with his head up. I think he would be an even better player in the prem. As for his defending it's getting better, but still looks a bit lost sometimes but you could say that about a lot of our players defending
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AlanMahon2011 added 18:15 - Mar 4 I 100% agree with JET here. Watching the Brighton game JET was nowhere to be seen the entire match, he never came back to help defend and he never RAN to quickly close his man down on the wing. JET is overrated from my point of view.
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