Town boss Mick McCarthy hopes Freddie Sears might be sparked back into goal-scoring form after he and his fiancée welcomed a son into the world earlier in the week. Jake James, who was born on Wednesday, is a brother to the couple's older son, Jax.

Sears has gone 28 competitive games without a goal, although he did find the net in the opening pre-season friendly at Shelbourne.

The 26-year-old’s last goal of the 2015/16 campaign in which he netted six times came after 16 seconds in the 2-1 win at Fulham on December 15th.

“He’s just got a little lad, so that might spark it off, who knows,” McCarthy said at Thursday’s pre-match press conference.

“I’m not saying that was affecting him but, if you’ve had children, when it’s coming to the due date it’s always [in your thoughts].

“It’s family, nothing else really matters at that time. I’m not saying he’s not caring about his football because he is.

“But once it’s over and done with he can think, ‘Right, crack on, I can get on with what I do best’. Maybe that’s a little bit of it.”

McCarthy says he takes managing his players’ family situations very seriously: “The lads are all the same. They’re a young squad and they’re all reproducing. They ask, ‘I’ve got to go to a scan with my wife, can I have Tuesday off?’. ‘Yes, of course you can’. ‘I have to go and see this with my wife can I have that..?’.’ Yes’. ‘My kids need something…’. ’Yes’.

“That’s a big part of it for me because their families will be around along time after I’ve gone and a long time after they’ve gone from Ipswich so you have to look after that. It’s a big part of it.”

He says players aren’t robots and their form can be impacted by what goes on off the field with their families.

“Like everybody else, if you’ve got problems, whatever it might be, it certainly can affect your football,” McCarthy added.

“There is that side of it that when you’re in that arena you can forget everything else and play but there aren’t many like that.

“Most of them would be affected by family life. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t get people coming in ranging problems at me, not at all, but if there ever is and I can help them and assist in any way their families are more important than anything else in my view.

“I try to treat them as I would treat my children, all my children are older than most of them, my youngest is 30 in May. They’re all older than them and I’ve gone through a lot of experiences with them. I would help them on a very paternal basis.”

Moving back to Sears, the Town boss says he still views the former West Ham and Colchester man as a frontman first and foremost, despite having used him in a wide role for much of the last year.

“He’s a striker. He’s better but needs must. What I really do love about him is that if I ask him to play there it’s never, ever an issue. That’s testimony to his personality.”

Sears looks set to join Daryl Murphy up front at Brentford today with David McGoldrick sidelined for at least six weeks with an ankle injury.

After his long dry spell McCarthy believes Sears would happily accept any type of goal which comes his way at present.

“I’m speaking for him without asking him, but yes, because when I played, if goals were flying in I’d have taken a clean sheet at any stage. Yes, of course, he would, I’ve no doubt he would.”

Photo: TWTD

Penguinblue added 06:10 - Aug 13 Playing him in the right position would help
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battyblue added 06:16 - Aug 13 Try playing him in his natural position you have turned him into a defensive winger/midfielder thats the main problem now leave him where he belongs for the rest of the season and soon the goals will return.
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hoppy added 06:32 - Aug 13 Did they only have the "Ja..." Page of the baby names book? I should think Jake will come to think he got away lightly one day...
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muccletonjoe added 07:13 - Aug 13 Sears has certainly been way off his best for a long while. Maybe some of this is due to being played in the wrong role but that wasnt the case tuesday and it wont be today. We really do need him and bish to be firing next week.
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Tractorboy1985 added 07:58 - Aug 13 Christ.. Didn't realise his run without a goal dates back to last year.. Still he's just lacking in confidence and being played as a striker alongside Murphy for a run of games will only help as this was when he was playing his best football for us! I can see it now.. And a goal.. Ipswich have scored.. It's Freddie Sears.. He peels away with his shirt over his head with a shirt underneath.. Welcome into the world jake James! Let's hope he can bang one in for his new addition to the family! Hard run of games after this one.. Let go all out for the 3 points COYB!!!

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BlueandTruesince82 added 08:01 - Aug 13 Needs must! Exactly. A key point. COYB
0

jas0999 added 08:04 - Aug 13 Great news for Freddie. However, being played out of position and having his confidence shot to bits hasn't helped him on the pitch. Still too many square pegs in round holes. When will MM accept Chambers isn't a right back?
8

dirtydingusmagee added 08:13 - Aug 13 dont think Freddie deserves to much criticism ,poor sod has been given the opportunity to play his natural game or position.Hopefully he will find some form alongside Murphy,but to demand or expect it immediately would be unfair.Its down to stubborn ,mindlessness on McCarthy's part that he hasnt been scoring goals .
6

rinkydinkpanther added 08:31 - Aug 13 Hoping we bump into the chairman on the golf course at a charity event to talk transfers, banking on someone's form returning because they've just had a child born...we don't believe in leaving things to chance, or clutching at straws, do we?
1

yorksblue added 08:57 - Aug 13 Left yourself wide open to criticism here, Mick.
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Ipswich58 added 09:06 - Aug 13 I cannot believe the utter tripe this manager comes out with. As others have stated it's all to do with playing players out of position. Sears, Chambers, Bishop etc. McCarthy treats fans like imbeciles. He insults our intelligence. He is patronising and so full of rubbish. His command of the English language is appalling and his inane statements are an insult to us all. He is older in his methods than that 400 year old Greenland shark they've just found.

5

potter84 added 09:19 - Aug 13 TEARS FOR SEARS!!!! I can only hope he finds his shooting boots and gets a brace today! Think Murphy needs to set a standard early on, a goal could be the kick start for another fruitful season on his part.
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hoppy added 09:43 - Aug 13 Another point that's been missed from this story... At least it tells us Freddie can still shoot ok...
2

wellhungphil added 09:49 - Aug 13 What's having a kid got to do with anything? That only proves he scored nine months ago. Stick him up top and tell him to get his leg over the ball. Boom! Let's go!!
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cats_whiskers added 11:49 - Aug 13 Boy oh Boy A brother for "Jax" If he'd put an "A" in front of that, he could then take him to the cleaners
2

MicksZzzTactics added 11:53 - Aug 13 Sincere congrats Freddie on son no. 2 .... and from a sarcastic POV it's all-around comforting to know that at least a good PART of you has definitely not succumbed to "shooting blanks"! Agree with everyone here though who imply Mick really scored "an unprovoked own goal" in this one (too! ...meaning this is hardly the first time this has happened for poor Mick while being employed with ITFC!) and consequently leaves himself wide open for criticism. Particularly since just about everybody also knows the MAIN reason for Freddie's scoring drought and lack of confidence in front of goal i.e. him being just another proverbial round peg in an UNFITTING square hole!!! But cheer up Freddie (and Mick ... and the ITFC fans too of course!) cause Mr. Sears is having an awful loooong way to go before he eclipses Frank Womack's FA record of going 511 games -- his entire career btw! -- without scoring. Womack accomplished this quite "dubious" honor and mind-boggling feat from 1908-1929 (491 games with Birmingham + another 19 with Torquay) not as any type of an offensive player but rather as a full-time fullback mind you! Those looking for a hmmm more "contemporary" example should look no further than currently available free agent Tony Hibbert age 35 .... another back, obviously :-) lol ... who like Womack is still without a single goal to his credit in his entire career! He has currently played in a no less than 328 games in total (264 in the league + another 64 in domestic and European cup contests) from 2000-2016 without finding The Net as much as just once, all of them with Everton btw.

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BluedanW added 16:33 - Aug 13 I agree with others, he would score many more goals if he was actually played in his correct position.
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