Young defender Corrie Ndaba signed a new three-year contract earlier in the week, with the club having an option for a further season, and manager Kieran McKenna has been speaking about the season ahead for the Irishman and also for midfielder Cameron Humphreys.

McKenna was asked whether the duo would be part of the first-team squad this season or might they be sent out on loan, another youngster Elkan Baggott having joined Gillingham on that basis earlier in the month.

The Blues boss says centre-half or left-back Ndaba, 22, and 18-year-old Humphreys, who signed a new three-year deal in June, are at different stages of their development.

“I think each case individually is always our approach. We don’t generalise or compare Corrie’s situation with Cam’s,” he said.

“Corrie is a good few years older and in a different position and a different profile. We very much believe in the players who want to be here.

“We believe in looking at what is right within their development to make sure they are assets who can really contribute to the first team going forward.

“Corrie has been around the first-team picture for a while, he has had experience in and around the first team and has had a good pre-season. He is a player who we really like and I think he is ready to play for us now.

“On the other hand, we have stiff competition in that position, especially with George Edmundson and Cameron Burgess in the squad.

“He is a young player who hasn’t played lots and lots of games as a centre-half in senior football. He shared his minutes out last year at Salford as a left-back and hasn’t had too much of a long run of games as a centre-half.

“We are taking all things into consideration and speaking to Corrie and reviewing it as we go along.

“The main thing is that he is a very important part of the future. We feel he has the potential to be so and we have a really good relationship and we are communicating with him about what is going to be the best pathway for him this season.

“Cam Humphries is obviously a lot younger and has only just come out of his scholarship. He is in his first year as a professional footballer, he has made a terrific impact on the group, on the players and the staff, mostly in his attitude and his hunger to work hard in training and develop himself.

“He is growing as a player and improving all the time. I thought he had a strong game against Southend, a couple of strong performances in pre-season and again we will keep reviewing his programme.

“He is very young, he again needs patience, support, guidance at the right times and he needs the right fixtures programme at the right times. We will speak with those young players individually and decide what is the right pathway for each of them.”

Photos: ITFC/Matchday Images

pg888 added 17:00 - Jul 29 Would be quite happy if burgess was to move on and ndaba the main cb cover. There's plenty of other players who could fill in during a crisis
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Suffolkboy added 17:13 - Jul 29 The care ,attention and dedicated discipline that KM and Co bring to ‘human ‘ man management is testimony to the driven enthusiasm that seems to typify everything ITFC again ! COYB
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Billysherlockblue added 17:43 - Jul 29 I disagree. I think burgess very important to our squad this year for certain games. A no nonsense defender. 💙
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pg888 added 20:49 - Jul 29 A no nonsense defender with a turning circle of the titanic! Just look at the Southend game
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KiwiTractor added 02:33 - Jul 30 As McK favours 3 central defenders, we need both Burgess and Ndaba in the squad.
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