Manager Mick McCarthy was delighted to see his decision to keep faith with Dean Gerken pay off with the Blues keeper making a vital save just before half-time during Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday. The former Colchester man, who conceded four at Derby last Tuesday, blocked from Matty Fryatt with the on-loan Hull City man through on goal and appearing certain to put the Owls in front.

“Fabulous, wasn’t it?” said McCarthy, who named the same starting XI for the fourth game running.

“I love that about goalkeepers, they’re doing it with Joe Hart at the minute. Keepers make a rick and everybody wants to get them out and Hart’s the best keeper of them all.

“And Deano has come in and been terrific for us and I can’t fault him for any of the goals on Tuesday night.

“But there were people asking if I was going to change the keeper but there wasn’t a chance because he’s been great and he made a fabulous save. And that’s what you get for putting faith in people.

“It was the same team, we drew four-all and I bet everyone was wondering whether we’d make changes, but no. They’ve been great, have a bit of faith in them and they’ll repay you.”

The Town boss wouldn’t go into too detailed a review of his team’s overall performance so far this season as they go into another international break, other than to say that he is pleased with them.

“I don’t publicly [assess them],” he said. “I’m not one for washing my clothes [in public], but I do with the lads. I’m delighted with the players I’ve got and the effort they’ve put in, and we’re doing all right, we’re doing OK.”

McCarthy says he’s happy enough with Town gaining draws on their travels, with the Blues having won all but one of their home matches so far this season, but believes a first away win of the campaign will come sooner rather than later.

“It’s a nice recipe. Everybody keeps saying ‘When are you going to get away from home?’. Well, if we keep playing like that we’ll get a win away from home, keep playing like we did at Derby and Wigan and QPR.

“I’m not going to change it, we’ve been different class, maybe we haven’t got the points we’ve deserved but I’m not going to stop doing it the way we’re doing it.”

The Town manager had praise for Championship Player of the Month David McGoldrick’s role in Paul Anderson’s goal, but feels his Wednesday opposite number will have been asking questions regarding the whereabouts of his defence.

“I think Dave Jones might be looking at the fact that they haven’t got a defender in their half,” he said. “But it was good work.

“Dids was great, he’s had a terrific season. I’m glad we’ve got a break now because they’ve had to work really hard.

“I’ve got the 18 players, I’ve got Alan Lee and Jordan Adekunle, but the reality is that there’s a squad of 18 and they’ve been terrific again, so they need a break.”

While Elliott Hewitt will be away with the Wales U21s and Tommy Smith with New Zealand for a training camp in the US and a friendly in Trinidad and Tobago, McCarthy plans to give the rest of the squad some time off.

“They’ll get three or four days off like we did the last time, they’ll certainly get next weekend off, no question," he said.

“They’ve earned it, they’ll need to put their feet up and rest because they’ll be going again when they come back.”

Photo: Action Images

Len_Brennan added 06:48 - Oct 7 Gerken is a reasonable keeper at Championship level & so is Loach, but you do get the feeling that there will be too many mistakes which will cost the team point over the season from both of them. The problem we have had, for a number of seasons now, is that we have failed to sign a definite number 1, no doubt about it. At times we have had 3 keepers and I have thought they they were all 'much of a muchness' & that includes ALB. Had we managed to sign Brad Guzan or Tomas Kuz... (the lad with Brighton) we wouldn't have this problem. Additionally recent loan keepers such as Stockdale & Henderson were up to the mark. I see Henderson is now gone out on loan to Doncaster. I think any successful side (promotion, ot top 6 at least) has to have a quality, dependable keeper and for me we just don't have it. Gerken made a great save on Saturday, but we can point to numerous great saves by Loach too; it doesn't take from the fact that they both have flaws which will cost us too many points & ultimately places in the Championship table at the end of the season. We need to identify & secure the keeper who is going to be our undisputed number 1 for the next few seasons, if we are to seriously consider being promotion contenders.

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village_blue added 07:06 - Oct 7 Len Brennan-Henderson is on loan at AFC Bournemouth not Doncaster,but I do agree we have not had a number 1 keeper since Kelvin Davis.
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IpswichLewis added 07:49 - Oct 7 Consistency is key...
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cyprustractorboy added 08:15 - Oct 7 village blue not sure kelvin davis was a great keeper but he tried hard and worked hard
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Strider added 08:40 - Oct 7 I've no problem with him showing faith in players, but why won't he show faith in Loach? Seems like every time Loach makes a mistake he put someone else in - anyone else for that matter. I've got no ax to grind with Gerken but it feels like Loach has the potential to be a much better keeper
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itfcserbia added 09:24 - Oct 7 MM says we're playing good stuff at the moment, and I'm OK with that assessment. But what I am worried about is if we're not picking (enough) points now when we are playing well, what's gonna happen when we hit the bad spell? And every team's gonna hit a bad spell now and then, that's normal cycle. So, overall, where are we gonna finish then?
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blues1 added 09:43 - Oct 7 strider. the answer to ypur question is simple. he did show faith in loach for a number of games after the reading game on the 1st day of season, when he made his 1st mistake. unfortunately he subsequently made more mistakes in other games and that is why he was dropped. other than the mistake at wigan gerken has done ok and on sat he looked solid in all areas of his game. hopefully that will continue. but im sure if he was to make too many more errors he too would be dropped.i do believe we need to sign a true no1 still however, as im not confident that either of them are good enough to be our no1 long term

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theobald1985 added 10:14 - Oct 7 agree with Strider i think mick must have something against him and I certainly think if we stuck by loach and worked with him he could be are number 1 for years to come. gerkin like with many keepers at this level can make terrific saves no question but it was the bread and butter that he is shaky on the crosses /when to come and when to stay. Loach was dropped for a couple of mistakes but then Gerkin makes a terrible error and conceded 4 so it is not fair on loach not to have been recalled

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sirbenofmorlingshire added 10:30 - Oct 7 Listening to Bob Wilson on TalkSport last week regarding the Hart situation, he said that all top goalies will make 10+ mistakes a season these days as the position, in regards to not being allowed to pick the ball up from back passes, the dynamics of the balls used and even the players footwear has changed the game for goalkeepers dramatically from how many of us remember it so well. Obviously I'd rather see no mistakes a season, but you've got a top coach saying, it's part of the modern game, which I kinda agree with. Consistency is the key, we can't keep dropping the keeper if they miss a cross in a game… we don't see these guys in training, MM does so he knows what they are doing, confidence levels and sees a lot more of them than we do, so you have to respect his decision. I saw the save on the highlights show on BBC, it was top drawer. I like Gerkin from what I've seen, Yes him and Loach are not miles apart in quality, but being a goalie is more than just shot stopping these days, I feel he has confidence, good distribution and command of the box, which Loach is a little behind in. I think he'll be a very good number 1 this term. Keepers will always be hero's or villains, part of the territory I'm afraid, but you can argue he salvaged us point this weekend, in so much as you can argue the misses from our outfield cost us 2 points. Well done for sticking with him MM!

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battyblue added 10:38 - Oct 7 Gerken is the best we have no question he is a decent complete keeper Scott Loach is a goal line keeper he is a good shot stopper but thats about it really but saying that neither are up to Hendersons standard imo and neither have been excellent as Mick likes to put it
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Michael11 added 11:00 - Oct 7 I slated him after the Wigan game as he was a complete mess every time the ball went near him. I have to say, he was absolutely faultless on Saturday. His save from Fryatt was right on half time and if that had gone in, I doubt whether we'd have come back. However, i'm not fully confident he should be our number 1, between him and Loach i think there's going to be a lot of mistakes made. I still think we lack a proper left winger and a right back too. Chambers and Tunnicliffe are solid but didn't look comfortable out of position.

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mikeybloo88 added 11:42 - Oct 7 Where does Mick get this "we've been different class" nonsense from? We certainly are different class to the better teams in the division - we're second and they're first.
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StowTractorBoy added 11:44 - Oct 7 This subject rambles on and on and yes I have had more than my fair share of opinions on Loach. I agree with others that neither Loach nor Gerken are top quality but then all goalkeepers make mistakes its just that just some make more than others. On the balance of power at the moment Loach has made far more errors than Gerken yet some people on here seem to think Loach has made one error and gets dropped. MM I totally agree with your decision to keep Gerken in and you were repaid with that save just before the interval.

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brazil1982 added 12:13 - Oct 7 To be honest, the ball hit Gerken, it wasn't really a save.
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JWM added 12:38 - Oct 7 So you have obviously never heard of the term 'Relex Save' then Brazil...!
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Scribble added 12:42 - Oct 7 Brazil1982 you beat me to it, reading mm's comments if you haven't seen the save then you'd expect it to be an amazing diving save but in reality the guy has just punted it at his shoulder
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brassy added 12:57 - Oct 7 does anyone have stats after 11 games last season,please help brassy,COYB.
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NSL added 13:28 - Oct 7 Very very difficult to get hold of decent keepers in this league. Many seem happy just to play in the reserves at Premiership clubs and collect their £15,000 per week rather than work hard in the Championship for some reason. Good example was Neil Alexander who played well for us and I would have liked to have seen him stay. He went to Rangers and played second fiddle for all but last season (in Scottish Div 3). Now second/third choice at Palace I believe?

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kalypso added 13:42 - Oct 7 senf loach out on loan, he must be unfit by now
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runningout added 15:27 - Oct 7 Gerken a lot better than Loach, I believe.. Gerken has plenty of room for improvement though
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alfromcol added 17:07 - Oct 7 35 games to go, 1 pt in every away game and 3 pts in every home game gives 84 pts that equates to play offs minimum!! COYBs
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blueboy1981 added 18:12 - Oct 7 Gerken is another keeper we have / have had at the Club, with definite ability and much more potential - over to the Keeper Coach / Coaches who should be able to eradicate his faults. That's the essential ingredient of Coaching ..... !!!
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oddball added 18:15 - Oct 7 So many moaners on this site on every subject, if u look back over stories there not happy with anything. Its been a decent season so far, we are in touch with play offs, no where near trouble, have some exciting players in cresswell, mcgoldrick etc, the defense is good. Whats the problem, weve been a bit unlucky and probs could have had more points. Try and enjoy our hobby for goodness sake, unrealistic expectations. We have a great chance of making play offs and have improved under mccarthy. GET BEHIND THE TEAM!!!!!!

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blueboy1981 added 18:18 - Oct 7 .... shame we had a Manager at the time who got rid of both an excellent Goalkeeper Coach and an awesome Striker - seem to remember the name was 'RHODES'. Doubt many would choose to remember it tho'.
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TRACTORBOY67 added 18:45 - Oct 7 maybe it could be time to change the goalkeeper coach get someone with different methods to Malcolm Websters
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