Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy hopes supporters are excited about the prospect of seeing 16-year-old Andre Dozzell make his full debut at Portman Road this evening in a Championship match against Fulham.
The former Copleston High School pupil made headlines with his historic debut goal in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday. It was a rare feat made even more remarkable by the fact his dad Jason had done exactly the same thing for the club back in 1984.
Accepting that a play-off place is now out of reach following just one win in eight games, McCarthy said: “Dozzer is starting – and that’s not some sort of advertisement for the club, it’s because he deserves his chance.
“I would hope it has got everyone excited again. He is an exciting player who is easy on the eye. We know we’ve got a good player on our hands.
“There’s not much I couldn’t tell him about, but he does things with the ball I’d never be able to tell him to do.
“He’s got nice balance, a nice range of passing, he’s a quality midfield player – but he is 16 so let’s just temper the enthusiasm for what he’s going to achieve on Tuesday night. Not every day is going to go like it did for him on Saturday.
“Being brutally honest, I don’t think we’d have been waxing lyrical about him had he not scored, but that’s the difference. If he can bring that little bit of quality to us that would be great.
“Let’s just see how he does in these last few games and then let him have a holiday. The euphoria and the media interest will then die down a bit.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here