Town’s top-of-the-table U23s face Cardiff City at Portman Road this afternoon with Teddy Bishop returning to action after his hamstring injury (KO 1pm).
New manager Mick McCarthy appears unlikely to make many dramatic changes as he goes into his first game as Blues boss at Birmingham City on Saturday. McCarthy and his assistant Terry Connor officially took over at Portman Road yesterday and haven’t had too much time to work with their new players.
Boss Paul Jewell bemoaned his side’s susceptibility on the counter-attack after losing 4-1 at Millwall. The Blues manager hit out at some of his players for failing to do their jobs.
Caretaker-manager Chris Hutchings expects there to be a “few feathers flying” at Portman Road on Saturday as table-propping Town look to win their first home game since March against Sheffield Wednesday, who are one place above them in the Championship. The 55-year-old says both sides are currently fighting for their lives.
Town are looking into sightings of five players out late on Wednesday night, hours after Paul Jewell’s Blues exit and prior to caretaker-boss Chris Hutchings’s first training session at Playford Road on Thursday morning.