Town full-back Ashley Young reiterated that there is a long way to go in the season after the Blues’ six-match unbeaten run came to an end at Oxford United on Friday night.

The Championship table has made for better reading in recent weeks, Town having won four of their six matches prior to the disappointment at the Kassam Stadium.

Currently, Kieran McKenna’s side sit eighth with a game in hand, with only eight points separating third from 17th in the congested league table little more than a third of the way into the campaign.

“When you get three wins on the board, teams are beating everyone in this division and it’s a crazy league,” Young said. “You’ve just got to focus on yourself and that’s what we’re doing.

“We’re focusing on each game as it comes up. We were focused on Oxford which is now done and we’ll recover as well as we can and get ready for Tuesday’s game away to Blackburn.

“That’s not going to be an easy game, it’s going to be a tough game. The league’s not going to be won after 10 games or after 20 games, there’s 46 games in the league so there’s plenty of games to play and plenty of points to pick up.”

One of the standout performers in recent matches has been goalkeeper Christian Walton, who has started each of the last seven matches due to regular number one Alex Palmer’s calf injury.

Young said: “He’s been brilliant for us. It’s not easy as a goalkeeper coming in when he did and I think he’s been fantastic. He’s saved us on plenty of occasions and again he pulled out some saves as well [against Oxford].

"We need everyone, it’s a squad game. Everyone knows that it’s not going to be the 11 players on the pitch, it’s going to be subs and those that are not in the squad, everyone’s going to have to be at it.

“When you’ve got so many games coming up, everyone’s got to be prepared and ready. He was fantastic, I'm sure he’ll be disappointed like we all are with not winning the game.”

Despite the healthy total of 29 league goals, the Blues have missed the most big chances in the division with 37 across their 17 league matches so far this season.

That statistic is evidence that Town are creating enough opportunities, with Sindre Walle Egeli, Jaden Philogene and George Hirst all failing to convert chances to score during Friday’s defeat to the U’s.

Asked whether the attacking players can be more clinical, Young said: “Yeah, definitely. We’ve got that in abundance all throughout the squad. Not just the front boys, everyone can chip in with goals and we saw that with Leif [Davis] getting on the scoresheet [against Oxford].

“We know we’ve got goals all around the squad and are a threat every time we go forwards. We’ve definitely got goals in our squad.”

Young has struggled for minutes this season since the arrival of Darnell Furlong late in the summer transfer window.

The former England international has been limited to just two league starts and made his first appearance as a substitute in nearly a month against the Yellows on Friday.

Delighted to be back involved, Young is keen for more minutes in the coming weeks as the fixtures continue to come thick and fast.

He said: “Yeah, of course I am. It’s been said that I might be 40 years old, but I want to play as much as possible and I want to give as much as I can to this team.

“That’s on the pitch, I know I’ve got a voice in the dressing room but I want to be out there and be taking part in the games. It was nice to get back out there.”

With the trip to Blackburn Rovers the second staging of the fixture following the rain-affected abandonment in September, Young was asked whether that puts any extra edge on Tuesday’s clash at Ewood Park.

“As long as it doesn’t get abandoned, that’s the main thing,” he replied. “We’re obviously disappointed and we’ll prepare again for the game on Tuesday.

“It’s about recovering well now, we’ve had game after game and been travelling non-stop, so it’s vitally important for us to recover and be ready for that game.”

Photo: Matchday Images