Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy said he didn’t hesitate in dropping Josh Emmanuel for Saturday’s goalless draw at Blackburn.

The 19-year-old right-back produced an impressive display in the 0-0 home draw with Brighton and a steady performance in the 1-0 home loss to Huddersfield prior to the international break, but was immediately relegated to the bench as soon as centre-back Adam Webster had recovered from a hamstring injury.

That’s because skipper Luke Chambers was moved back to his unfavoured role of right-back as the Blues – who haven’t scored in more than eight hours of action now – kept their sixth clean sheet of the season.

Asked if it was a difficult decision leaving Emmanuel out, McCarthy replied: “No. That was the right thing to do. It was hard because he’s played well, but it’s not because I’m not leaving Chambo out.

“He’s a real leader, he’s my captain, the team captain, they all call him ‘skip’ and look up to him. Is he the best right-back in the league? No. But I tell you what, he’s different class for us.

“Decisions like that are what I’m paid for. You have to ask, ‘would it cause more problems than it solves?’ And I think yes it would.

“So no, it wasn’t a hard decision.”

McCarthy’s loyalty towards certain players is increasingly being called into question as the Blues slipped to 17th in the Championship table ahead of tomorrow night’s visit of Burton Albion.

“It’s an emotional game and people sit in the stands and have their favourite players who they want to play, but it’s what they bring to the whole team – not just that one position,” said McCarthy.

Meanwhile, Webster – the 21-year-old centre-back a £700,000 signing from League Two club – produced an outstanding display on his return to the team.

“He won all the headers and he tackled and he handled all that,” enthused McCarthy. “And he’s an absolute joy to watch when he’s striding out with the ball. You don’t think he’s ever going to lose it, you always expect him to find a pass.

“I think I’ve signed a Premier League footballer in the making. I hope that’s with us, but if not he’ll play there and go for a lot of money. He’s got the potential to be top drawer.

“I won’t give him a big head by saying this because he’s got his feet on the ground.”