IPSWICH Town go into tomorrow’s Championship game at Ashton Gate against Bristol City (kick-off 3pm) with young prodigy Josh Carson being reminded that he’s still got plenty to learn.

The 17-year has proved a big hit in his four senior games scoring a brace in last Saturday’s home success over Crystal Palace.

He has taken the jump from youth football in his stride and is expected to give the City defence plenty of problems tomorrow.

Grant Leadbitter made a similar impact when he came into the Sunderland side as a teenager, and at the age of 25 and a regular in the Ipswich midfield he warned Carson today:

“Josh has done well and he has great talent.

“But the first 10 games after you make your debut see you carried through on adrenaline.

“The key is to keep going, and to keep progressing.

“He still has a lot to learn.

“I still have a lot to learn and no matter how old you are you should always be looking to make progress every day.”

And Town manager Paul Jewell is equally impressed with Carson’s contribution so far.

But he had a similar message about the need for Carson to now push on and make himself a first team regular.

“Josh has got to be bright, because it can go one of two ways,” said Jewell.

“You can be a two-minute wonder and everyone talks about you for two weeks.

“Or you can do it the hard way and become a top player for the next 10 or 15 years.

“At a young age, whether you are Connor Wickham, Joe Whight or Josh Carson, you can have two minutes of glory. That’s the easy part.

“The hard part is maintaining that.”

And comparing Carson with Wickham, who is two and a half months the senior and has already made a big impact in the game, Jewell went on:

“They have got different personalities. Josh is more outgoing, while Connor is very quiet.

“Josh is more up and at you, whereas Connor is more laidback person, which in a way is a huge strength with all the headlines he has had to deal with.

“He’s a good kid, with Josh more of a cheeky chappie.”

Jewell is hoping to have both youngsters in his squad next season and as much as he wants to finish this campaign on a high with good results in their final five matches he is already looking ahead.

“Every manager would like to have their squad finalised by the first day of training, which in our case will be June 29 this summer.

“But that ain’t going to happen.

“You never do, but if you can get a few in before we start training and get as much business done between now and then, even better.

“But that’s naive really. Things change quickly and we’ve been looking for a while.

“I’ve sat down with the owner and had two or three long meetings. I’m happy with the way the discussions have gone. I know what we have got and what we haven’t got.

“We’ve got plans, though everyone is restricted by budgets, with the exception of Manchester City perhaps.”