Town fans are likely to get their first glimpse of new loan winger Jordan Graham during the back to back home games against Blackburn, tonight, and Huddersfield, on Saturday, according to manager Mick McCarthy.

The 18-year-old Aston Villa player joined the Blues for a month last week and was an unused sub at Charlton at the weekend.

McCarthy says that match was one for more experienced players: “There’s every chance, but it wasn’t the game for him on Saturday, it was a game for hairy-arsed pros on Saturday.

“He’ll get a chance. It’s all right watching them play for other teams and watching them in games on TV, but it’s different when you watch them close up. He’s got some skill, the lad, he’s a good player.”

Graham has already made an impact off the field, McCarthy says: “His initiation song was brilliant. I can’t remember what he sang but he showed he had a few nerves and then stood up and we had to tell him to sit down and shut up he was that good.

“The ones that are rubbish get jeered, but this was ‘Shut up, sit down, get off, you’re too good!’. He was brilliant.”

Central defender Tommy Smith concurred: “He has slotted in really well and I don’t know whether he should be a singer after his performance in his initiation. He put on a really good show on Friday night.

“He sang I Believe I Can Fly and he was great to be honest, probably the best I have ever heard. He was even asking for a piano to be brought out — he’s a very talented boy.

“To be fair, I haven’t seen much of his football ability yet. He only had his first training session with us on Friday and we didn’t do much.

“It was the same on Monday so I haven’t seen much of him. But I’ve heard a lot of good things about him so I’m looking forward to seeing him in action.”

The Town boss was full of praise for Smith’s performance at Charlton not just for netting the fifth-minute winner but also for his outstanding defensive display: “Tommy was great Saturday.

“It was a tough, tough game, we had to head a lot of balls on Saturday, make a lot of physical challenges and I thought the back four stood up to it really well. Tommy was excellent and he gets that extra point for scoring the winner.”

McCarthy was also impressed with Aaron Cresswell who, as well as notching his eighth assist of the season, more than anyone else in the top four divisions, kept one of Charlton’s more dangerous players under control.

“I thought he was quietly, very understatedly one of the best players on the pitch on Saturday because Cameron Stewart, who we watched and highlighted as one of their really positive and best players, one of their strengths, never had a kick,” he said.

“And Cressy had a lot to do with that. He read it well and he won a lot of aerial challenges as well. He was classy, without shouting about it I thought it was a really good performance.”

He says Cresswell’s deputy Tyrone Mings can benefit from seeing the Liverpudlian in action: “You can always learn something from watching good players and Cressy is a good player. Whether Tyrone’s sitting watching and thinking he’s learning, I don’t know.

“But you just soak it up, you take it in when you watch people play and I have to say Ty’s a pretty good learner.”

Photo: ITFC

Photo: Action Images

KiwiTractor added 07:15 - Dec 3 hairy-arsed pros ...... haha love it. Good luck Jordan, if you get a run.
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battyblue added 07:20 - Dec 3 Think Marriott has more talent than Graham but then again he is not a winger i suppose
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Karlosfandangal added 08:00 - Dec 3 Looks like he had better stand on street corner and grow some hair if he want to fit in here
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50yearsablue added 08:02 - Dec 3 Purely out of interest battyblue, how many appearances of each player have you seen to make your informed judgement?
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IpswichLewis added 08:50 - Dec 3 MEOW 50yearsablue...fair comment tho...:)
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Michael11 added 11:18 - Dec 3 I'd like to see the lad start. I don't think Anderson is creative enough and more of a player to bring on if we go in front to shore things up and track back. The table could look very good with 3 points tonight.
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TimmyH added 11:28 - Dec 3 He'll probably come on with 5 minutes to play or if we are losing at half time and Mick has to make enforced changes due to a misfiring midfield.
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battyblue added 11:36 - Dec 3 50 years a blue) watched Marriott a least a dozen times as i am involved in football locally and admit i have only seen Graham twice but have a cousin who works at Villa so going on his imfo as well ,hope that answer your question mate.
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BlueMachines added 14:53 - Dec 3 Unchanged team to start with Graham getting about 8 minutes I bet
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bohslegend added 17:14 - Dec 3 Typical. Any change. You don even know what this lad is capable of, neither does MM yet, so why all the calls to change something tonight just for the sake of change? What would happen if the young lad had a nightmare? Who would get the blame? MM would. Because all the moaners on here give MM stick when things go wrong and no credit when things go right.
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Ebantiass added 18:36 - Dec 3 Come on lads Ive tipped a four one win to us of course. BLUE ARMY
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bohslegend added 23:30 - Dec 3 Well, were you right or wrong Timmy, Michael, Batty? 3-1 is the result. Would we have done better if you lot had picked the team?
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