Boss Mick McCarthy has confirmed that striker Paul Taylor will keep his place in the team when Town face Middlesbrough at the Riverside on Saturday. The Blues manager is also able to call on new loanee Jonny Williams, Luke Hyam and Frank Nouble after injuries but loanee Frazer Richardson is missing against his parent club, while academy second-year scholar Teddy Bishop could travel with the senior squad for the first time having impressed in the U21s on Tuesday.

McCarthy says Hyam is OK after the hamstring injury which has sidelined him since the Blackpool game: “He’s trained today, he’s fine, he looks good.

“The lads who have been away are fine. Jonny was in, Murph was in, Greeny was in this morning, trained.

“Christophe Berra hasn’t because he lands in Scotland sometime today, so there’s hardly any point in him coming down here to travel back up on the coach. That would be ridiculous, so he’s meeting us tomorrow. He’s fine.

“Frank’s trained today. He had a tight hamstring, he had to come off [last week], it wasn’t a precaution. But he did the right thing, he came off, rather than turning it into a strain or a pull.”

“Woody came off this morning with a sore back, so we’ll see how he is but everybody else is fine.”

One absentee will be right-back Frazer Richardson, who is on loan from Boro, and is unable to play against his parent club.

David McGoldrick is the only player sidelined long-term at present but has said he hopes to return from his medial knee ligament injury before the end of the season.

Loanee Williams missed last week’s victory over Birmingham with a hamstring problem but came on as a sub for Wales in their 3-1 victory over Iceland last night and McCarthy says he’s OK to be involved on Saturday: “I think so, I think he’s fine. I had a brief conversation with him.

“He went on for Gareth Bale and got a huge ovation. I’m not sure whether it was for him though! He’s been in and he’s been assessed, he’s fine.”

McCarthy confirmed that Taylor, who was most people’s man of the match having taken Williams’s role in the front three at the last minute last week, will start: “Paul Taylor’s playing.

Can Williams and Taylor play in the same team? “Turn up on Saturday and find out,” McCarthy added. “I’m sure they can, but turn up and see. Paul Taylor’s playing.”

Bishop

Perhaps joining the 20-man travelling party for the first time will be 17-year-old Teddy Bishop, who impressed in a central midfield role in Tuesday’s 1-0 U21s victory over QPR.

McCarthy, who watched Scotland’s U21s draw 2-2 with Hungary at Dundee United's Tannadice last night, says the Cambridge-based attacking midfielder, who has been with the club since the U8s, did very well and joined in with first team training today.

“He was excellent, he trained with us this morning when Woody went off. We went and got Teddy and told him to bring his kit as he might be travelling with us for Saturday.”

Photo: Action Images

riley26 added 02:28 - Mar 7 Resolute performances have got us this far, got us into a position just behind the pack, you can't argue against how far it has brought us, but if we don't throw a bit of caution to the wind now we'll probably look back and think, 'What if?'. If we are really going to compete with these teams and stake a claim for the top 6 I think we really need to take the game to them with the likes of Taylor and Williams. Going to be a hell of a run in with our next 7 games all against teams around us, and all those teams play each other anything could happen!

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bohslegend added 07:37 - Mar 7 Can only see one change personally, Williams in for Tabb. I thought Tabb played well last week, lots of energy, lots of pressing and closing down - you know, the unsexy stuff that someone needs to do in any good team. But form what I hear Williams is a better player overall, and therefore it makes sense. It's time for people to leave the team selection to the manager and get behind the team. We've done well this season regardless of where we finish up now. I think the real progress (if MM stays) will be next season.

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sebastien1 added 12:37 - Mar 7 Ipswichdave.... The football world is littered in history , with great footballers who were lazy so an so's, who did sod all game . you only found out they were on the pitch when they stuck the ball in the net to win you the game. if SEB fits in that mode and is fit stick him in i'd say.
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