James Wilson and Luke Matheson have been ruled out of Saturday’s trip to manager Paul Cook's old club Wigan Athletic, while the Blues boss has one or two other injury issues in his squad and admits he has a big decision to make on whether to start Kane Vincent-Young, who made his long-awaited return as a sub at Portsmouth last weekend.

Wilson, 32, was substituted in the second half of the game at Pompey and Cook says the central defender won’t be involved at the weekend.

“James Wilson’s been feeling his knee, he had some fluid drained off it on Monday,” saidCook, who held his pre-match press conference this morning with the squad having a day off tomorrow and leaving early for Wigan on Friday. “Obviously, as you could see with the substitution on Saturday, we were aware of that.

“There are one or two issues around the squad and it does hamper doing exactly what we wanted to do.

“One hundred per cent I want to keep you in the loop, but we also sometimes just don’t want to let other teams and everyone know our business. But James won’t be involved on Saturday.”

On-loan Wolves right-back Matheson, 18, hasn’t been involved since his second appearance for Town agains Northampton more than a month ago before Cook took charge at Portman Road and the manager revealed that that’s due to the former Rochdale man having picked up a knock.

“Luke’s been out injured now for three weeks, I think it is, so Luke hasn’t been available and isn’t available for selection,” he said.

“As you can see, one of the things with the press, especially my local press, I try my best not to discuss every single player at the club because it just becomes tedious for everyone.

“Probably not for you guys because we’re not winning enough, are we? You might start asking me more questions about football. Rather than the individual personnel at the club, it can get a bit tedious.”

Town will also be without striker Troy Parrott as he's away with the Republic of Ireland full squad, while centre-half Mark McGuinness is also expected to be unavailable as he's with their U21s.

Asked whether Vincent-Young, who prior to last Saturday hadn't played a competitive match for 17 months, is ready to start - something which would allow skipper Luke Chambers to move in the centre of the defence in Wilson’s place - Cook admitted it’s something he not yet convinced is the case.

“I’m not so sure,” he reflected. “I think when you’ve been out that long, as you can imagine, everyone wants us to put him back in, myself included.

“But you’ve got to also respect how long the boy’s been out and how many actual 90 minutes he’s had.

“We don’t want him to break down, so that’s a big decision, by the way. That is a big decision because one of the things we do know is we’ve got to start winning football games quickly if we want to be where we want to be.”

Asked whether the former Colchester man is his type of full-back, he added: “Since I’ve come in now, the five games, you learn so much about the club every day, every single day I’m learning so much about what a great club it is.

“I think it’s quite consistent that people who know me and know how my teams are set up, everyone knows how I want to play, so I don’t think debating that in terms of our players [is something I want to do], our players need belief and confidence now. They need to believe that I believe in them, that they can achieve success this season.

“If they keep listening to me in interviews saying that I’m not happy with this and I’m not happy with that, then the reality is that they’ll go the other way on me, and that’s not what I want. I want the best of what we’ve got to shine through for the rest of the season.”

Photo: Matchday Images

trncbluearmy added 10:05 - Mar 24 Interesting,honest and refreshing,lets hope his football is as well COYB
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Bazza8564 added 10:32 - Mar 24 I agree with trncbluearmy, this guy is solid, straightforward and honest. Really important we stay patient with him. When I read last weeks comments after Portsmouth expecting miracles in three weeks it saddened me. The odds are against us getting promoted this season but this guy will do his utmost to get us where we belong. There is nothing more poisonous at a football club than the fans turning in on its manager. With PL it became a subplot that held everything back, and its clear from the comments Cookie has made already that the players aren't completely through that yet. Im also convinced we will be under new ownership soon, despite the denials and silence we know that PE can be very reclusive. He will not have reacted well to the deal being made so public but i'm convinced that fire isn't dead yet. A decent win Saturday with winnable games to come puts us back on teh front foot and smiling once again.

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TimmyH added 10:44 - Mar 24 Bit of a coincidence that Wilson's injury however slight allows Chambers to slip back into central defence with the possible return of KVY into the right back birth.
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Ipswichbusiness added 10:49 - Mar 24 TimmyH and of course he is so much better than Woolfenden ... but perhaps he's picked up a knock as well?
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WeWereZombies added 11:05 - Mar 24 It does seem to be significant that Woolfenden is not mentioned in this article.
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SaigonTractor added 11:26 - Mar 24 While I'd love to see KVY back playing 90mins, I also don't want to risk injuring him again. While we haven't been that great lately, we should still have enough to win these next few games without him.
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Razor added 11:39 - Mar 24 You just have to play KVY---you will not find out how fit he is by sitting him on the bench and we are allowed 5 subs now. Also Nozza and Jackson up front please with KVY supp;lying the ammo-----crikey that may just get me a little excited!! (ailthough not banking on it as the cheeky chappy seems like a Lambert clone with a different accent)
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TimmyH added 11:47 - Mar 24 Personally if KVY gets back to near 90 minutes I'd like to see the 3-5-2 introduced again which was our most successful formation when we first went down, with KVY and Edwards/Kenlock the wingbacks, Woolf/Toto, Chambers, Wilson at the back and 2 attackers up front in the form of Norwood and Jackson/Parrot. Shame Downes is injured as I think we'll miss him in the holding position.

4

unknown100 added 11:49 - Mar 24 Luke Woolfenden has fallen down the pecking order when I really thought he was going to be the future centre back for years to come It wouldn't surprise me to see Kane become our right winger as he seems torn to drop chambers and we are lacking wingers
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66notout added 11:51 - Mar 24 Lambert clone? Where are you getting that from? Lambert was a miserable so-and-so most of the time.
5

Cheshire_Blue added 11:54 - Mar 24 'There is nothing more poisonous at a Football Club than the fans turning in on it's manager' Well we have a great track record for that. Is the penny starting to drop?
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Radlett_blue added 12:02 - Mar 24 Yet another player who hasn't been playing gets injured.
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Suffolkboy added 12:56 - Mar 24 No cause for negativity or suspicion here : our man, PC, has integrity and tells it how it is with notable and acceptable care – looks very much as if he will earn respect from the local media ,and there's plainly the hope of smoother more amicable relations ! If his handling of the players matches up , then we shall see a reformed ambience and spirit soon reflected ! COYB

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cat added 15:24 - Mar 24 TimmyH - P.C sets up 4.2.3.1 and I doubt he will change this which suits me fine, but those calling for 4.4.2 need to A/forget it B/ move into the 21 st century lol
1

eddiespearitt03 added 16:01 - Mar 24 I think they should remove all the plastic cones from the training ground to avoid getting " knocks ".Install bubble wrap around the goal posts and step ladders to tie the boot laces up. All i can say is that i hope Paul Cook is not fooled when it comes to extending contracts. Probably 90% of the supporters know who the first 6 players should be on the list.
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TimmyH added 16:21 - Mar 24 KVY will be wasted as a full back in a back 4...wing back suits him better.
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PortmanTerrorist added 16:54 - Mar 24 If KVY could be a sub, he can play. Protecting players has been the Club's way in recent years....how has that worked out?! The best thing for any player is getting regular minutes and to get back playing ASAP. If he tires after 70 minutes fine, if he breaks down then chances are he would have done in training in coming days/weeks anyway; at least that is what tends to happen to our players. Key thing is if the lad is confident in playing as playing with doubt is dangerous; he seemed surprised to be picked last week but still performed when he came on. Gut says the lad wants to play, so let him play. Heaven forbid he is as injury prone as some have suggested, but if he is then let's get him on the pitch while he IS fit at least !

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foshizzle added 18:28 - Mar 24 Chambo has been a fantastic servant for our club, but it does feel like we need to turn a new leaf and draw a line under the past five years. Time for a few new faces and a new captain.
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RobsonWark added 18:49 - Mar 24 eddiespearitt03 added 16:01 - Mar 24 "I think they should remove all the plastic cones from the training ground to avoid getting " knocks ".Install bubble wrap around the goal posts and step ladders to tie the boot laces up." Players would definitely not be injured by Chambers in training as we can all see on a match day he is never within 5 yards of an opponent when defending.

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dirtydingusmagee added 19:28 - Mar 24 i wouldnt think KVY is ready for 90 mins after all this time, so use him as last week ,take it step by step, we cant expect too much from him .
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KiwiBlue2 added 21:25 - Mar 24 I think Kane should be given the last 30-35 minutes or if we are behind at half time bring him on for the second half. After the injuries he has had 90 minutes could be a stretch too far just at this point because we need him for the rest of the run in. Certainly if he gets through 30-35 minutes then maybe start him in the following game.
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BettyBlue added 08:18 - Mar 25 Coming off the bench cold into a dynamic game is as dangerous as playing 90 mins.
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Dockerblue added 10:22 - Mar 25 Sorry RobsonWark, down-voted you in error, sausage fingers!
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Linkboy13 added 11:46 - Mar 25 We need to get a big physical centre half in next season, we've not had one for years. Wilson is ok but doesn't dominate for me. I would keep him on as a squad player.
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