Ipswich v Charlton: Paul Jewell has defended Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’ sluggish start to the season – as he wrestles with whether to throw the former Arsenal man back into the Blues’ line-up.

With injury doubts over Michael Chopra and Paul Taylor for tomorrow’s visit of Charlton Athletic, JET seems the most likely beneficiary after finding himself on the bench for the last three matches.

And if he is given the nod, the 21-year-old has been left in no doubt what his manager is expecting.

Jewell said: “We were really pleased with him in pre-season, but he struggled and didn’t play with confidence in the first few games so we took him out.

“Everyone knows he has got ability, he just needs to try and be a bit more consistent. He knows that but he is only a young lad.”

Jewell famously once described his �1million signing as “going from world-beater to panel-beater”.

So which one is he now?

Jewell said: “He is in between the two at the moment but his time will come.

“When he gets that consistency and experience, he will become a better player.

“Because he has that laid-back attitude, it might look like he doesn’t care. But he does care.”

Emmanuel-Thomas, who, along with Michael Chopra, again got involved in an apparent war of words with some fans on Twitter last night, started the first five league and cup matches but has only managed one full 90 minutes – against Bristol Rovers in the Capital One Cup.