Town boss Mick McCarthy has urged patience with new striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who is set to make his Blues debut against Preston today, not just from fans but from himself and also the player.

McCarthy pencilled the 27-year-old in for his debut in today’s FA Cup third round tie soon after he signed a contract until the end of the season last month, with the former Wolves man having been out of action since April after breaking his leg and damaging ankle ligaments.

“I told Sylv as soon as he came that I had that one earmarked for him as a debut,” the Town boss said. “I think he’s been progressing his training towards that.

“He looks fine. Is he going to be Sylvan Ebanks-Blake of three or four years ago at Wolves? No, because he’s been out for nearly 10 months.

“It needs a bit of patience, first from him that he doesn’t get frustrated if everything doesn’t turn to gold for him.

"Secondly from me. I know that although he’s match fit he’s not sharp and he’s not battle-hardened like the rest of them are, so I can’t start picking spots.

“And thirdly from the crowd who think ‘Sylvan Ebanks-Blake has come in, he scored 45 goals in 18 months! Yahoo! He’s the answer!’.

“He won’t be the answer on Saturday, although if he gets the chance he’ll probably score, I’ll tell you that. So, I think we all have to have a little bit of patience.”

Meanwhile, on-loan Blues striker Jack Marriott was an unused sub as Gillingham beat Ebanks-Blake's former club Wolves 1-0 via an injury time Cody McDonald goal at the Priestfield Stadium last night. Marriott, 19, joined the Gills on loan until the end of the season on Thursday.

Photo: ITFC

Photo: Action Images

battyblue added 07:50 - Jan 4 No Problem Mick and the same goes for Paul Taylor right.
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BudapestByBlimp added 08:22 - Jan 4 Have you seen how many bobbles he has on his jumper?!
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stickymockwell added 08:44 - Jan 4 He needs a tumble dryer
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petermorris added 11:04 - Jan 4 ...or a battery operated knitwear debobbler.
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Paddy39 added 11:10 - Jan 4 I don't care how many bobbles he has as long as he can hit the back of that onion sack. He is a proven goal scorer at this level but after his injuries he will need time. Its good to see him back and wearing our blue, I'm sure the fans will give him great support today.
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ArnieMsBigToe added 11:11 - Jan 4 Budapest. The state of his knitwear doesn't bother me that much. Now let's talk about what he maybe wearing on his feet. Let's hope he's got his scoring boots on!!
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gibbo added 13:02 - Jan 4 It's properly the new ipswich town jumper, I got one paid nearly £40 washed it once and it's worse than that
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