Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy says he was delighted to see keeper Dean Gerken repay his faith in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday.

Having been rock-solid during his first three games for the Blues, the summer signing from Bristol City made a mistake in the 2-0 defeat at Wigan, then failed to deal with a corner when Derby pegged the Blues back to 4-4 at Pride Park.

It led to some calls from supporters to see boyhood Blues fan Scott Loach – dropped after a mistake himself – reinstated.

However, Gerken was back to his best at Hillsborough at the weekend, making a super reaction save from Matty Fryatt just before half-time and generally commanding his area with confidence.

“He was fabulous wasn’t he?” enthused McCarthy. “I love that about goalkeepers. They’re doing it with (Joe) Hart at the minute; everybody wants to get him out but Hart’s the best goalkeeper of them all.

“Deano has come in and been terrific for us. I can’t fault him for any of the goals on Tuesday night, but there will have been people saying ‘is he going to change the keeper?’

“Not a chance, because he’s been great and he makes a fabulous save today. That’s what you get from putting faith in people, I believe.”

McCarthy, who has named the same starting line-up for the last four games, added: “We drew four-all and people say are you going to make changes? No, have faith in people and they repay you.”