McCarthy Hints at Changes for Posh Clash Friday, 23rd Nov 2012 14:45 Manager Mick McCarthy has hinted that he will make one or two changes to his starting XI as the Blues take on fellow strugglers Peterborough United at Portman Road on Saturday (KO 3pm). Although the Town manager was, as usual, keeping his cards close to his chest, he says that one or two switches of personnel wouldn't come as a surprise: “Wait until two o’clock tomorrow! There’s every chance, isn’t there, [after] a game like that. I haven’t got that many choices to make changes, let me tell you. “The lads that played at Leicester, most of them played against Burnley, so you’re going ‘Hold on a minute’. So, you don’t just go ‘I’ll get shot of all them lot’. "There might be [changes] and at two o’clock you can say ‘I didn’t expect that!’ or ‘I did expect that!’” One possible switch is Tommy Smith returning to the centre of the defence having missed the game at Leicester having been away on international duty during the previous week. McCarthy has been impressed by the 22-year-old New Zealand international and confirmed that he will is in his thoughts: “He was very good [against Burnley], but he’d travelled to China, he’d played in China and he’d travelled back. I don’t think that [was ideal]. “Actually, I wonder if he stayed at home and the rest of them travelled to China and back. He played very well against Burnley. I like him, he’s trained really well. He’s in contention.” The Blues boss says keeper Scott Loach is over the thigh problem which forced him out of last week's squad: “Scott Loach is fine this week, having said he was last week. Andy Drury had a bit of a strain last week, he’s OK. Everyone’s all right.” McCarthy hints that he may be weighing up whether to bring Loach into his side in place of loanee Stephen Henderson at some stage but implies that Saturday may be too soon: “It’s difficult when he’s not fit, which he wasn’t last week. “We’ll wait and see and keep looking at him, he’s only come back into training late on this week.” Henderson will probably keep his place against Posh with Aaron Cresswell at left-back and Danny Higginbotham the left-sided centre-half. Smith could come in for Luke Chambers alongside Higginbotham with the former Nottingham Forest man probably dropping to the bench with Bradley Orr at right-back, although McCarthy could decide to use Chambers at full-back as he did against Burnley. In midfield, Nigel Reo-Coker and Guirane N’Daw will probably be in the centre with skipper Carlos Edwards on the right. Lee Martin will probably keep his place on the left but alternatively could drop out of the side with either Andy Drury or Luke Hyam in the tucked in role Richie Wellens filled prior to his return to Leicester. Up front, with new loan signing Tyrone Barnett ineligible against his parent club, Daryl Murphy may partner DJ Campbell. However, the Blues boss may spring a surprise and start Michael Chopra alongside Campbell, having praised last season’s top scorer last week. Paul Taylor is expected to be sidelined for the season having undergone foot surgery. Overall, McCarthy says his players need to put Saturday’s 6-0 thrashing at Leicester firmly behind them: “We need to react to what was a very disappointing performance and result at Leicester last weekend. “I’d have taken six points from the four games we have played since I have been here. The games we lost - at Palace and Leicester - I probably didn't expect to come away with three points from those matches, but I expected us to play much better than we did. Our fans travel a long way to watch us and I never want them to see performances like that again. “We picked over the bones of the Leicester game on the Monday and then you have to move on. It's all about the next game in football. I can't do anything about the past. “It's obviously a huge game for both teams, given our positions in the table. With the terrific support we enjoy, hopefully we can make home advantage count.” Posh boss Darren Ferguson believes matches against the likes of Town are the ones from which his side need to gain points: “Losing to teams like Blackburn isn’t going to affect our position too much, but the games against the teams around us in the table are huge. “We’ve already lost to the likes of Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday and those results hurt us, so the importance of the game against Ipswich is smacking us all in the face. “Like us, they had a bad result last week, but they won their previous home match against Burnley, a team in good form at the time, so we have to mindful of that.” He says the last Town’s last two displays were complete opposites: “We’ve watched both matches because the performances were so different. It was like seeing two different sides and first and foremost we have to be wary of the sort of backlash that can happen after a team has suffered a big defeat. “We will go there looking for a win, but we know it’s going to be a tough game. Mick McCarthy is an excellent, vastly-experienced manager whose sides are always well organised and tough to beat. “The incentives for us are obvious though - if we win we go above them and there is also a chance that three points will take us out of the bottom three.” Posh, who are bottom, one point and two places below the Blues, have signed midfielder George Thorne on loan from West Brom and striker Dwight Gayle from Dagenham and Redbridge this week. The duo have gone straight into the squad for Saturday’s game. Full-back Mark Little is back after a hamstring injury, while midfielder Tommy Rowe, who has missed much of the season with an ankle problem, is a doubt. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing has joined Portsmouth on loan and Emile Sinclair Barnsley on a similar basis in the wake of the row which also led to new Blues signing Tyrone Barnett being transfer-listed. Of the quartet involved in the recent early hours incident outside a Peterborough nightclub only skipper Gabriel Zakuani remains at London Road. The sides last met at Portman Road in March when Aaron Cresswell’s first goal for Town eventually saw the Blues to a hard-fought 3-2 victory. Grant Leadbitter had put the Blues ahead but one-time Town target Tyrone Barnett made it 1-1 at the break. Daryl Murphy nodded the home side back in front, then Posh sub Emile Sinclair equalised, prior to Cresswell’s winner, which deflected in off Gabriel Zakuani. In August last year at London Road, Town had two players sent off in the same match for the first time ever as Peterborough came from behind to win 7-1. Lee Martin and sub Tommy Smith — who had been on the field for less than a minute - saw red either side of half-time after Keith Andrews had put the Blues in front only for Lee Tomlin (3), current Town striker Paul Taylor (2) and Grant McCann (2) to see Posh to their biggest ever win at Championship level. Overall, Posh have the upper hand, winning five times (two in the league), two matches ending in draws (one) and the Blues winning twice (once in the league). Peterborough's last 0-0 draw was at Portman Road in December 2009. Taylor joined Town from Posh for an initial £1.5 million in August when midfielder George Boyd was also a target, the Blues failing to agree terms with the former Stevenage man. Striker Tyrone Barnett joined the Blues on loan earlier in the week but is ineligible against his parent club. Academy director Bryan Klug was a player with Peterborough between 1984 and 1985, while Malcolm Webster at one time coached the keepers at London Road. Saturday’s referee is Select Group official Mark Halsey from Lancashire, who has shown 23 yellow cards and three red in nine games so far this season. Halsey’s last Town game was the 6-0 away win at Doncaster Rovers in February 2011 in which he kept his cards in his pocket throughout. A month earlier he had taken control of the 3-0 Carling Cup semi-final second leg defeat to Arsenal with Connor Wickham and Laurent Koscielny receiving the only yellow cards. Halsey is best remembered amongst Blues supporters for his extremely harsh red-carding of Liam Trotter in the FA Cup third round tie against Portsmouth at Portman Road in January 2008. He also denied Town what looked like an obvious penalty during the closing stages of the Blues’ 1998/99 play-off semi-final first leg against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium. Squad from: Henderson, Loach, Lee-Barrett, Orr, Hewitt, Cresswell, Chambers, Higginbotham, Smith, Mohsni, Hyam, N’Daw, Reo-Coker, Drury, Edwards, Carson, Emmanuel-Thomas, Martin, Murphy, Chopra, Campbell, Scotland.
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