Trio Impress Blues Boss Ahead of Leicester Clash Friday, 1st Mar 2013 15:13 Blues boss Mick McCarthy says Frank Nouble, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Andy Drury did their chances of getting into the team for Saturday’s home game against Leicester no harm at all with their performances in Monday’s U21 match against Colchester. Nouble netted a hat-trick and Drury the other goal, while Emmanuel-Thomas was one of the Blues’ stand-out performers in a 4-3 victory over the U’s. McCarthy reported only one new injury at his pre-match press conference: “Everybody’s all right, apart from Arran Lee-Barrett, who’s got a cut on his knee, so he wouldn’t be available. He’s the only one from the squad. “Carlos was ill during the week, Murph had a swollen knee yesterday, but he’s trained today. But they’re all OK.” Anthony Wordsworth (cracked vertebrae) and Paul Taylor (foot) are the only players sidelined long-term. The Blues boss was delighted with 21-year-old Nouble’s performance on Monday: “It was nice to see him get a hat-trick in the U21s. I thought he did very well in a game that we took control of but then we gave it away with a couple of mistakes. “But it’s still nice when strikers are scoring. At whatever level they’re at, they want to score goals. I thought he did well.” He says the January signing from Wolves is closer to making his first team debut for Town, having made seven sub appearance since his move: “Of course, when he does as well as he did on Monday night, and he’s training well, I’m really pleased with him. “I thought Jay Emmanuel-Thomas played well as well in the game, which was good to see. We’ve got three games in a week and we may need everybody. “He played well and he’s done a lot to improve his chances of being involved with me, definitely. I was really pleased with him.” McCarthy says Drury could also be involved at some point over those three games, although believes he’s got a tough job to usurp current central midfield pairing Guirane N’Daw and Luke Hyam. “He has every chance of being involved,” he said. “He needed a game though. There were one or two of them that were knackered and that’s through not playing any level of competitive football. “You can train all you like, but you need to play games. Tyrone Mings was another one who needed a game. “Certainly Andy Drury needed a game, he hadn’t played for two months. Jay needed a game, Big Frank needed a game, although he’s had a bit more football in the first team. “You need to get that 90 minutes under your belt so you get game-hardened as much as anything. That’s done them a power of good, all of them that played.” McCarthy was pleased with last week’s 0-0 at Huddersfield, although admitted that his side didn’t play well and as such may be pondering changes. Stephen Henderson seems certain to continue in goal, while the back four of Richard Stearman and Aaron Cresswell in the full-back roles and centre-halves Tommy Smith and Luke Chambers is also unlikely to change. New signing Reece Brown will probably miss out on a place on the bench as the Blues have six domestic loanees with only five permitted in a matchday squad. In midfield, McCarthy says he’s happy with central duo Hyam and N’Daw, while Lee Martin appears set to keep his place on the left. Emmanuel-Thomas may have done enough for a place on the bench, but probably not to replace skipper Carlos Edwards on the right. Up front, David McGoldrick and Michael Chopra worked hard with little reward at Huddersfield and may be given another opportunity, however, Daryl Murphy and Nouble will be looking to come into the side. Leicester assistant boss Craig Shakespeare says Tuesday’s 3-0 home victory over Blackburn has lifted the spirits at the King Power Stadium after the Foxes had failed to win their previous four games: “We have great belief within the squad, and we as staff believe in them too. “We’ve got the quality in the squad — you need that, and also need a bit of luck along the way in terms of injuries and form, so I was really pleased the other night from a coaching point of view to see that the lads have their mojo back. “It’s one of those where they can hopefully take that confidence into the next games. [The mood was] very good after the Blackburn game. In the dressing room they were buoyant, the lads knew we needed the result, and the manner of the performance in the first half especially was very, very good.” Goals-against-Town-specialist David Nugent is rated at 50/50 to make the game due to a neck injury, while midfielder Matty James is set to miss out with a knee problem. Town have had the upper hand historically, winning 26 games between the sides (26 in the league), drawing 18 (17) and losing 24 (22). Despite sitting in fifth in the table on 57 points, 15 places and 18 points ahead of the Blues, the Foxes’ away record (won five, drawn four, lost seven) is not too dissimilar to Town’s (won five, drawn four, lost eight). As the Blues found to their cost earlier in the season, it’s at home (won 12, drawn two, lost three) where Nigel Pearson’s men are strongest. Leicester have the division's tightest defence, conceding 28 in their 33 games, exactly half of those away from home. In November, shortly after Mick McCarthy took over as manager, Town fell to their second successive hammering on the road as they were hammered 6-0 at the King Power Stadium. David Nugent took his record to 11 goals in 11 games against the Blues with two early goals, the first a penalty, with Lloyd Dyer, Anthony Knockaert, Martyn Waghorn and Marko Futacs netting the rest. The sides last met at Portman Road in April when Nugent scored his now obligatory goal as Leicester came from a goal behind to beat the Blues 2-1 and inflict what was their first home defeat since January 2nd. Jason Scotland put the Blues deservedly in front in the 43rd minute but soon after, Ben Marshall’s freekick went through both wall and Arran Lee-Barrett with Nugent heading in the winner in a second half dominated by the visitors. Blues right-back Richard Stearman started his career with the Foxes having come through their youth system and made 105 starts and 25 sub appearances, scoring 11 goals between September 2004 and June 2008. Centre-half Patrick Kisnorbo was also with Leicester, where he played alongside Stearman and former Blue Gareth McAuley, from April 2005 to July 2009, making 133 starts and seven sub appearances, scoring 12 times. Town U18s coach Russell Osman was with the Foxes between 1985 and 1988, and James Scowcroft, who coaches the academy’s U13s, left Portman Road for Leicester in the summer of 2001. Leicester midfielder Richie Wellens was on loan with the Blues for a month earlier in the season, making seven starts, while central defender Jide Maduako signed a professional deal at the King Power Stadium last summer having been released by the Blues academy at the end of his scholarship. Foxes manager Nigel Pearson was interviewed for the job as Town boss in 2006 but lost out to Jim Magilton. Saturday’s referee is Darren Deadman from Cheshunt, who has shown 90 yellow cards and four red in 27 games so far this season. Deadman’s most recent Town match was the 1-0 victory at Portsmouth last February in which he booked three players from each team. Squad from: Henderson, Loach, Stearman, Hewitt, Cresswell, Mings, Kisnorbo, Chambers, Smith, Brown, N’Daw, Drury, Hyam, Martin, Edwards, Emmanuel-Thomas, Murphy, Chopra, Mclean, McGoldrick, Nouble.
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