Town boss Mick McCarthy has hailed keeper Dean Gerken’s recent outstanding form, having kept faith with the 30-year-old despite criticism from some sections of the Blues’ support earlier in the campaign.

“How pleased am I with him? I keep picking him every week, so that tends to say I’m happy with the goalkeeper,” McCarthy said.

“There was a bit of nonsense going on a while back when we were conceding goals and throwing games and he was getting it in his earhole.

“But he didn’t deserve it because I can honestly say, other than Reading away, the third goal between him and Skusey, [the goals weren’t down to him].

“He wasn’t happy with the goal the other night [at Fulham] from the freekick but it came through the wall and it flew in the bottom corner.

“Other than that he’s been brill, I think he’s been outstanding, he’s just had a great season.

“And what’s really nice is that Bart turns up and trains every day as if he’s training and he keeps him on his toes.

“And it was the same the other way around as well, they’re two really good characters. We’ve good goalkeepers and we should thank Malcolm Webster for that for firstly recommending them and then training with them.

“I kept faith in him because he’s a good keeper and he was playing well. Simple as that.”

Meanwhile, McCarthy says on-loan Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles has improved the more he has played and trained with the senior squad since joining for the season in the summer.

“He’s got stronger and stronger, training with the first team all the time, playing the games,” the Town boss added.

“I think he’s coped with it remarkably well. Physically, there’s no problem with him at all, he’s a really good athlete.”

Elsewhere, the Blues manager says he recently saw former Town left-back Tyrone Mings, who is out for the season having suffered a serious knee injury on his Premier League debut for Bournemouth in August, and says he found the 22-year-old in good spirits despite his lengthy spell on the sidelines.

“He’s all right, he’s just in rehab, he has a long time to go yet because he had a bit of a setback with it right at the very start,” McCarthy said.

“He’s just doing his rehab, it was a nasty injury, both his cruciate and his medial, he might have done the lateral as well, I’m not sure.

“He was in good spirits, it was nice to see him. He came to see me and TC and the lads. It was great, we had a chat with him. But he has a long road to recovery, sadly.”

Photo: Action Images

sidtheswan added 06:24 - Dec 22 He hasn't been outstanding at all he's been getting better as MM has been playing him . Jack Butland is outstanding . It know also means that as Bart hasn't been playing he would have lost that match sharpness so could be a problem if Gerks gets injured . Would play Bart against Pompey but when has MM ever listened to anyone else!
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Sir_Bob added 06:33 - Dec 22 You would love to have MM as your boss wouldn't you? Although he may give you some earhole behind closed doors, he'd never say anything bad about you in public. And that my friends is excellent man management. It's just a shame he's blinkered when it comes to Gerkin's ability.
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Dissboyitfc added 06:40 - Dec 22 you keep picking several players, regardless of form. Gerks has been ok for the main, but is ok good enough? We all know he is a good shot stopper but goalkeeping is more than shot stopping, as a striker is more than scoring goals. Excellent is a word over used by MM. COYB
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Dissboyitfc added 06:45 - Dec 22 Sir Bob, mmm not sure i agree, excellent man management? He constantly refers to his best 11, even players out of position, what does that say to established players in certain positions IE right back or centre half?
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Dwillams57 added 06:47 - Dec 22 Wouldn't say he was outstanding by any means. Has made a few good saves which any goalie should make. Has left a few in that he shouldn't as well
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Sir_Bob added 06:53 - Dec 22 Dissboy, I was stating that it was good man management not to give his players a slating in public, even when everybody knows some of them have been rubbish.
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bluefeast added 07:13 - Dec 22 He a good championship goalkeeper probably top 10. Wished he was more vocal and dominated the area more ,but when said and done he clearly seems to have improved over the last couple of months. Its other areas of our team that need improving , like having players who can retain possession.
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Jimmy86 added 07:13 - Dec 22 Whilst he has improved somewhat of late I still feel there is always a clanger in him waiting to happen. Against both Boro and Derby he has been lucky the ref gave a free kick to us when Gerken has less than convincingly come off his line and flapped at a well flighted ball into the box. He is a good shot stopper il admit, but in my opinion he is weaker in every other department of being a keeper than Bart is.

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TractorCam added 07:17 - Dec 22 Mick sounds ridiculous when he comes out with stuff like this. Ok over the last couple of months he has certainly improved, but there is no doubt he should of been dropped for Bart when he was in his really bad spell. as Bart got dropped straight away when he went on a bad run last season. It's clear to see
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TimmyH added 08:19 - Dec 22 Only need Smith and Skuse to be praised now and that's the whole team - you'd think we were top! - as said good man management (better than slagging them off in public).
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ChrisFelix added 08:32 - Dec 22 Include in top 10s town keepers. No way. Compare with Cooper, Best, Wright, . I also thought he should have saved Derbyshire goal
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ChrisFelix added 08:33 - Dec 22 I mean Derby
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BlueKush added 08:34 - Dec 22 The Derby goal Saturday deflected so far underneath Gerken it gave him no chance! He should have been dropped after Reading away - he completely lost his head for the third goal. Ditto Forest away where he lost the team 2 points when he punched Berra in the 97th minute for no reason other than unnecessary panic. The free kick last week went straight through him and we've conceded countless soft goals with him in the side. And all this hot air from Mick about them both competing fairly when he's never dropped Gerken unless he's been injured. Gerken's fine as a deputy, but Bialkowski is our strongest number 1. Remember when we beat Watford 1-0 twice last season? The draws with Bournemouth? The 11 match unbeaten run? All featured impressive performances with Bialkowski in goal. Even this season, it took Gerken 14 games of being "outstanding" to catch as many crosses as Bart did in his 3 appearances. 3 appearances that included beating Burnley 2-0, our best performance and clean sheet of the season. We didn't lose any of the 3 games Bart played either. It isn't coincidence. QPR at home we might be alright, but if we get 3 points against Burnley or Brighton with Gerken in goal it would be unprecedented. Outfield, Mick's got it spot on and I couldn't be happier with the squad. I'm happy with Gerken as a stand in but that's all. When Bialkowski's father got ill, Bart didn't want to go as he knew he'd lose his place. But kind manager Mick forced him to go. Then when Gerken had an OPTA-backed, provable 14 game nightmare, Mick has stuck with him giving Bart absolutely no chance of returning - unless Gerks gets injured. And then he rattles on about fair competition... Go to amsterdam Mick, go to a cafe, ask for the works. Then laugh at yourself and stop faffing about.

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mr_bean added 08:44 - Dec 22 Here's a sub headline I'd very much like to read: "Town boss Mick McCarthy has hailed his team's recent free-flowing attacking displays, despite criticism from some sections of the Blues' support earlier in the campaign. "
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groovyASH added 08:47 - Dec 22 Gerken has neither been as outstanding as Mick makes him out to be nor as horrendous as some fans on here make him out to be. He certainly has made a couple of costly errors this season (Reading and I feel he was suspect for both of the Wolves goals), and yet he has also had some good commanding performances, including against MK Dons and Charlton. Surprisingly we have kept 5 clean sheets in our last 12 and Gerken has been the man between the sticks for these, the link and confidence between a 'keeper and his defence is probably of quite underrated importance and it does not serve to chop and change your 'keeper unless necessary.

4

ArnieM added 08:50 - Dec 22 I think some on here need to have a reality check. Not that long ago Ipswich Town were fast heading for League One. In free fall and adrift at the bottom of the Championship, and undoubted oblivion. Then Mick McMcarthy takes the job on . No money. No players of any quality and a overloaded squad of dead wood....... and he pulls a whole family of gold plated rabiits out of the hat. Not only does he save our sorry arses, but he makes us play off material. The constraints to which he works under remain unchanged. What do you all expect I wonder, since he's already performed a nigh on mirical in the first place. Look to Bolton, if you want to see how this Club could so easily have gone just 3 yrs ago!

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vanmunt added 09:27 - Dec 22 @ArnieM True, but I would just like to watch better football. This hoofball stuff is archaic and soul destroying.
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jas0999 added 09:35 - Dec 22 Mick made a decision between two average keepers. Gerken has probably been no worse than Bart, but outstanding is stretching it. Yes, he has made some excellent saves, but his all round keeping has been lacking and has too often been caught flapping. He has cost us points. His aerial ability is below average and he still on the whole fails to control his area. We could do better, but equally there are worse players. Very average.

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Keaneish added 09:37 - Dec 22 Bluekush - long post that...
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BlueKush added 09:40 - Dec 22 @groovyASH 5 clean sheets in 12 - against Huddersfield, Cardiff, Bolton, Charlton and MK Dons. All teams that had barely managed a goal a game when we played them and all (bar Cardiff) relegation fodder. It simply disguises what has been the weakest link in the team since Brighton. And, when you do some digging, you'll find that Mick's never dropped Gerken unless forced to. We've improved the team generally this year but gone backwards regarding the most important position on the pitch. All from the butterfly effect of Bart's dad getting ill. Bonkers.

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Kropotkin123 added 09:42 - Dec 22 I think people are bored of saying Bart is the better keeper, rather than no longer believing it. MM is deluded when it comes to Gerkin. The constant need to tell us about Gerkin proving doubters wrong only serves to remind everyone that we have a better player on the bench. He wouldn't need to say it, if people were genuinely convinced that Gerkin was a better choice than Bart. @ ArnieM. I have made numerous posts about the positives MM brings to the club, particularly in the context of the state of the club when he arrived. But playing people out of position, picking his favourites over better players, and playing negative football are clear issues that hinder our progress. There is a reason why he is at our club and not a top premiership one, and it is for these type of reasons. More than the reasons themselves, it is his inability to recognise and act upon them. He now seems to be in this bizarre position that he'd rather stick with a player, just to try and prove fans wrong, no matter how many points it costs us throughout the season.

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Surco72 added 09:53 - Dec 22 Everybody is brilliant which is why MM rarely changes his team win lose or draw , whatever the opposition , whether home or away , or if a player loses form or is playing out of position
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muccletonjoe added 10:07 - Dec 22 Probably mm would say we are 6th in league and gerks has certainly played his part in that. What I would say is lats have another look at the table in the new year.
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MattinLondon added 10:07 - Dec 22 MM is a very good manager there's no doubt about that but how long do we have to lament him for keeping us up when he first came? Until the end of the season? Next season? He does get the most out of his players and he deserves praise and respect for that. But the football is dire and dull. He does have his favourites. Its a bit like a Sunday League manager who only picks his mates who he goes drinking with. MM is a very good manager I just wish that he came with a passing attacking mentality rather than a hoofball defensive mode.

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Geoff added 10:10 - Dec 22 Has MM lost the plot??
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