McCarthy: Knudsen Could Ultimately End Up at Centre-Half Thursday, 18th Jan 2018 18:52 Blues boss Mick McCarthy believes Jonas Knudsen could ultimately become a centre-half full-time having looked increasingly assured when playing that role rather than his usual position of left-back this season. With Adam Webster still out with his achilles injury and Tommy Smith set to join the Colorado Rapids and probably not involved, the Danish international again looks set to start alongside skipper Luke Chambers at the heart of the defence at Bolton on Saturday. “I’ve no problem with Jonas doing it, he does it well,” McCarthy said. “I think ultimately he might end up there, as well as being a very a good left-back and he’s got unbelievable energy for that role, he just keeps going. “I thought him and Santie [Bersant Celina] had a really good relationship as well. Santie very rarely misses him, he puts it in his stride and we get crosses from that side. That’s not knocking Myles at all. But I’m cool with Jonas playing there and we’ve got Jordan Spence back after Saturday as well.” He added: “There’s every chance he could end up as a centre-back. He does like that competition, he likes defending and I particularly like defenders who want to defend. “Chambo’s fantastic, you see them in training, they’re the ones when shots are raining in, they’re blocking them and stopping it going in their net, which is a nice thing to have as a defender.” McCarthy is also pleased with the work-rate shown by Celina, in addition to his skills and brilliant goals, the latest of which saw the Blues to last week’s 1-0 victory over Leeds. “He does run and run and run, Santie,” McCarthy reflected. “It's sometimes said to me in a disparaging way that I want 10 players who’ll run in front of the keeper, almost like it’s an insult. "Well, I’ve watched Liverpool play, I see 10 players running in their team. I watched Manchester City, they have 10 players running in it and I’ve watched Barcelona and Real Madrid, they have 10 players working exceptionally hard. “So why the hell should Ipswich Town players be any different? Not a chance. And Santie does but he’s just got that quality that I can’t coach. Pep Guardiola can’t coach what he can do with the ball, that’s God given and practice from whenever he had it. “And it was just a wonderful strike. I don’t think it was his best game by any stretch of the imagination. But we all come away and tend to forget everything else and he’s scored his goal. He works his socks off.” McCarthy’s teams aren’t associated with flair players like Celina, but his Town teams have usually had someone of that ilk, Tom Lawrence last season, Ryan Fraser prior to that, Teddy Bishop when fit. However, it’s usually the less glamorous side of the game which opposition managers cite at press conferences ahead of games against the Blues, and McCarthy has no complaint about that. “I take that as a compliment when they say they know what they’re going to get,” he insisted. “We make teams play against us, we make teams scrap against us and fight. “I see them play against others, for example Fulham came down and really bashed us here and their manager said that that was the first time they’ve done everything. And I know why they did everything, because if they didn’t they’d probably have got a thumping here, so they had to stand up to it. “And no, I don’t take that as anything other than a compliment that managers say that. And if they mean it in a disparaging way, then so be it. I’ve had pretty good success doing what I’ve done. “A lot of them who are saying they know what to expect, they probably said that when they came to Sunderland and we won the league by how many points, and Wolves. And maybe Spain were saying that in the last 16 of the World Cup, I don’t know, when we lost on penalties.” Meanwhile, McCarthy says he’d have enjoyed playing against Blues striker Joe Garner during his days as a centre-half. “He’s a right royal pain in the backside,” he said. “I’d have relished playing against him, and he me I would imagine because we’d have had a good scrap. “But he’s fabulous and that’s why I left him out of the FA Cup game because he can’t do that for 46 games a season, it’s just not on. “Actually, I’ll go back on that, you can. But you can’t do it and get the best out of yourself in 46 games a season the way Joe Garner plays. It’s just remarkable. “He’s been brilliant, he’s led the line fantastic for us and when he doesn’t score he still makes chances for other people and he’s still been a regular scorer for us. A great character.”
Photo: TWTD Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Blogs 298 bloggersIpswich Town Polls[ Vote here ] |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
