DON’t take your eyes off me!

That’s the message from confident new Ipswich Town signing Jay Emmanuel-Thomas who says his crowd-pleasing flashes of brilliance could come at any moment.

“I’ve got a lot of tricks in my locker – I just bring them out at the right time!” said the versatile 20-year-old, who really caught the public eye at the start of last season when one mesmerising piece of skill in an Arsenal reserve game went viral on video sharing website YouTube.

Speaking after yesterday’s opening training session held at Portman Road, which was watched by over 2,000 supporters, Emmanuel-Thomas added: “Fans will have to keep their eyes on me for the whole game because I could do something at any moment.”

Used as a full-back and centre-back in his early teen years, the �1.1m signing has been used as either a winger or forward since turning professional.

Town manager Paul Jewell played his new signing in a free role behind striker Michael Chopra on Tuesday night in the pre-season friendly at Colchester United though. And that is where the powerful 6ft 3in player feels he can express himself best.

He said: “I’m still not sure what my best position is! If you pressed me though, I would probably say off the striker. I think that’s the best place for me.

“That’s not for me to decide though, it’s 100% up to the manager where he plays me. I’m just good at attacking and making things happen. That’s what I’m looking to do here.

“I know Michael Chopra quite well from our time together at Cardiff last season and we spoke before I came here. It’s going to be great playing with him on a weekly basis.”