Town captain Dara O’Shea says he is pleased the Blues have strong availability after three of his teammates successfully navigated a suspension tightrope.

Darnell Furlong, Anis Mehmeti and Azor Matusiwa have now all reached the 37-match amnesty with only nine bookings to their name, meaning they have avoided being handed an automatic two-match suspension.

Matusiwa’s run has been particularly impressive, the Dutchman having now gone 17 successive league fixtures without a card to continue his near ever-present run in the Blues’ starting XI.

Remarkably, O’Shea himself is yet to pick up a booking this season and has gone more than a year since his last caution at Manchester United last February.

“I wish you didn’t say that,” he joked. “It’s been tough for some of the boys, they’ve been walking a fine line for a while now. Fair play to Azor for not getting that yellow card.

“It’s not something that the boys necessarily think about, if you’re running that close then maybe you are. It’s important that we can keep everyone available.

“We felt like we’ve been hard done by, but they’re decisions, they go your way or not go your way. It’s important to have everybody available.

“When lads aren’t available, lads step up and step in and that’s the most important thing for us. We’ve got a big, competitive squad and we need to make the most of it.”

Two goals inside the final 15 minutes ensured Town returned to winning ways on Saturday with a 2-0 victory over relegated Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.

Jack Clarke added to his impressive tally this season with a strike from the penalty spot, but not before striker Iván Azón struck with a close-range finish from Ben Johnson’s cross from the left.

Azón had spurned a golden chance when he poked wide just three minutes earlier, and O’Shea was delighted for the Spaniard to make up for his error with his third goal in seven matches.

He said: “That’s what any good striker should do. If you miss one chance, you’re going to get another, put it away and make amends for it.

“He’s been amazing since he’s come in, he’s getting used to a different culture and a different league. It’s not easy, the Championship is definitely not easy. He’s getting chances and he took one, that’s the main thing.

“I’ve spoken to him inside and he’s happy again. That’s his fifth league goal, which is great for him. I’m sure he’ll be pushing himself to get many more as well.

“We’ve all got to chip in, we all have to. Any successful team, they don’t just rely on a couple of players to score their goals. The whole team chips in, and that’s what we’ve got to be.

“I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself to score goals and I should be scoring. I’m frustrated, maybe I should have scored a few more.

“When lads are popping up in different games, we need that and everyone needs that. That’s the reason why we have a squad and it’s so competitive, and we need lads pushing.”

Following the upcoming international break, the Blues’ schedule looks incredibly demanding as they face a run of eight matches in 27 days, five of which come on the road.

Having just come to the end of a run of seven matches in 22 days, Kieran McKenna’s side have a full week on the training pitch before next Saturday’s crucial meeting with fellow promotion chasers Millwall at Portman Road.

“It’s nice to have no midweek game,” O’Shea said. “It’s been heavy to say the least — lots of games, lots of away games, lots of travel, lads away from their families.

“We’ve got a day off to rest and recharge, then we’ll come back in and look forward to a really exciting week with a big game before the international break.

“The games aren’t slowing down after the international break. It’s going to be full on and we need to all be ready and refreshed. Whatever rest we can get in that time, we’ll take it and move on.

“We’ve just got to do what we do. That’s go out in every game and try to win it, that’s the main aim. We prep for that every week and whatever happens on the pitch happens. It’s focusing on what we can do.

“There’ll be a lot of hype and a lot said around the game, they’re a team that are around us. We’re going into it confident and ready for the task. It’s going to be a battle, it’s going to be tough, and we’re back at home as well.”

Photo: Matchday Images