Town boss Mick McCarthy admits it'll be difficult to pick his team in the weeks to come with the likes of Ryan Fraser, Kevin Bru and Teddy Bishop returning to fitness.

Fraser is over the knee injury which sidelined him in early October and has been on the bench for the last two games, while McCarthy has said that Bishop is making progress following shin splints and hamstring problems which have prevented him from making a senior appearance so far this season.

Kevin Bru, who had missed three games with a hamstring injury, got back in action at Fulham on Tuesday when he came on as a half-time sub for Cole Skuse, who had suffered a broken nose.

“It will be," he said. "But better that than scratching my head wondering what to do. That in itself poses a problem but I’ve got good characters in the squad.

“If we’re doing well I leave it alone, generally. And they know that if they get in the team they’ve got a chance of staying in the team and that motivates them.”

Despite having had a number of players - several of them central midfielders - out during the first few months of the season, McCarthy says he’s not one to moan and feel sorry for himself.

“I don’t see the point in it,” he added. “I tend to try and affect the things I can affect and I always think it’s counterproductive if you whinge about the players who are missing because [it’s disparaging] to the ones who are coming in.

“It’s a bit like saying to your wife ‘You look nice in that dress’ and she says “What, didn’t I look nice in those trousers last night?’. You can’t win with that one! ‘Your hair looks nice today’, ‘Why, was it bad yesterday?’.

“And it’s a bit like that with players if I say ‘Oh no, there’s all these players missing and injured’. The ones that are coming in, they’re the important ones, they’re the ones who have got to play.

“You’ve got to take care of the injured lads as well. Psychologically, emotionally, you’re asking about them, you’re wanting them to come back, but the reality is that it’s the ones that are playing who are the important ones.

“I just don’t get it, whinging about injuries because there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Meanwhile, the November 30th cut-off passed without any Blues having amassed five yellow cards and therefore a one-match ban, skipper Luke Chambers subsequently picked up his fifth of the campaign at Milton Keynes.

Players now need to accumulate 10 bookings between now and the second Sunday in April to face a suspension.

McCarthy says he takes discipline seriously: “We train really competitively, players go and tackle and tackle properly.

“I certainly don’t like indiscipline, you can see that with my teams. I don’t like people screaming and shouting at referees. I can do that better than they can anyway!

“I don’t like petulance on the pitch, I don’t like people getting upset with things. Get on with it, be blokes on the pitch and do it properly and if somebody kicks you, if you get a chance, win the ball and kick him back. But that’s part of the game.

“But don’t be diving, I do like to stay within the rules but be competitive and be tough, but not going over the ball.

“But, by the way, if somebody’s clean through and he brings him down, I expect him to bring him down, make no mistake about that.

“Christophe Berra against Norwich [was a bit different], it hit him [on the hand] and he couldn’t do a lot about that. That one, you think ‘Let it go in and we’re 1-0 down and we’ve still got 11 men’, that was a reaction.

“Ryan Fraser against Sheffield Wednesday when the big fella [Lucas João] was running through, he tripped him up and got booked, he was taking one for the team.

“When it happens to us we’re all screaming and going mad but that’s professionalism, I’m afraid. That’s that nasty word professionalism. Win the game.”

Photo: Action Images

blueboy1981 added 20:28 - Dec 17 Nice problem to have - let's just hope that one day we will actually have ALL round pegs in round holes throughout the team. Now that would be the day..... !!!
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OriginalMarkyP added 13:09 - Dec 18 A match fit, on form Fraser gets in the team every time. But is he match fit? Probably not, not 90mins fit anyway. Is he on form? We don't know. Mick will have seen him in training so has more of an idea. If he's not picked against Derby it's not Mick picking old favs it's more likely governed by the two points I just made and the fact that the team is winning. Bishop likewise. Throwing him would be a mistake. Got to ease him back gradually. We'll need him fit after Christmas, not broken after one game. You do get the impression that some on here have no real grasp of how to get through a very demanding season...you can't just throw people back into the thick of it because you want their name on the teamsheet. Not after a long layoff. Madness.

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