Blues boss Kieran McKenna is confident centre-half Cameron Burgess will be able to slip seamlessly into the Town side facing Portsmouth at Portman Road tomorrow with the former Australian U23 international set to replace the injured George Edmundson.

Burgess, 26, took over from Edmundson in the 61st minute during Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat of Lincoln and McKenna was pleased with how the summer signing from Accrington Stanley played against the Imps.

“When you’re training how Cameron trains, which is to a really high intensity with a really high level of focus every day, I don’t think in that position, the centre-back position, there are going to be too many physical issues,” he said.

“Physically he showed the other night that he’s able to step into the intensity of the game because that’s the intensity he works at every day.

“Obviously from a tactical point of view, as I said after the game, we’ve trained from the first day really with certain people in certain positions and we train in a very specific and positional way throughout the course of our training week.

“And Cameron is full attuned with our key principles on the ball and our key principles off it and the requirements for his role in different phases of the game.

“I know he’ll be physically ready for Saturday and he’ll have a very clear idea of what his job is and I also know with Cam that he’s looking forward to it and he’s a strong personality, so we have every confidence in him”

Until Tuesday Burgess hadn’t featured under McKenna, the only senior player not to have played some part under the new boss until that point, with his previous match the FA Cup replay defeat at Barrow on December 15th.

McKenna admits that that was a long time and that not all players would have coped as well with being thrust straight back into the fray.

“Yes, it was. A lot of people would struggle with that more than Cameron did,” the Blues boss continued. “He’s been fantastically professional right the way through, we’ve had lots of conversations right the way through, me and him. He’s had lots of conversations with [assistant manager] Martyn [Pert].

“He’s been working on his game, he’s been watching clips of different players, he’s been in every unit meeting giving his opinion on the strikers.

“He obviously knows the league very well, so he’s always there to give his opinion on the strikers that we’re playing against, how he finds them, what he’s found difficult or what’s worked for him before. I have to say, he’s been absolutely fully engaged in everything that we’re doing.

“But on the other hand, he’s had to wait a long time for minutes. I think it’s been quite an unusual situation to have had the run of games that we’ve had with so many clean sheets, such a good performance by that unit.

“And then also to now have any injuries or suspensions in that unit. The boys had up until this point had managed to stay completely injury free.

“I’ve been speaking to Cam constantly. I told him I was as sure as I could be that at some point we were either going to have an injury or a suspension and he was going to get opportunities to play.

“It wasn’t a situation where I felt like I wanted to needlessly rotate just to give him minutes. I spoke to Cameron and said I knew what he’s about as a player, I didn’t need to see him play to know what he’s about, I know what he’s about and it’s just been about waiting for the opportunity to come up.

“It’s come up in circumstances which we wouldn’t want, it’s not ideal for George obviously with the injury, but from Cameron’s point of view it’s what he’s prepared for and he’s looking forward to the games.”

Is Burgess being stronger on his left foot an advantage as he’ll be coming in on that side of the defence?

“It can,” McKenna reflected. “I think there are certain situations where being left-footed in that position helps out, certain passes to your outside are easier with your left foot but there are also certain passes which are easier with your right foot.

“I think in world football there are a lots of examples of good right-footed centre-halves playing on the left-hand side, I don’t think it’s necessarily a benefit.

“It’s obviously better for Cameron to go in and play on the left than go and play on the right, so it should help him slot in, but in terms of the team, I don’t think it makes a massive difference.”

Photo: Matchday Images

johnwarksshorts added 16:34 - Mar 11 If he steps in and continues to play like he did against Lincoln he'll be fine.
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Suffolkboy added 18:40 - Mar 11 HE WILL be fine ; KM says so ! COYB
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