Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy is in no rush to utilise the January transfer window – despite a virus sweeping through his squad and leaving him with just 18 available first team players.

Midfield trio Cole Skuse, Teddy Bishop and Jay Tabb were all sent home from training yesterday and will be unavailable for tomorrow night’s FA Cup Third Round replay with Southampton at Portman Road (7.55pm ko, live on BBC One).

A big reason behind Town’s success so far this season has been the clearly evident togetherness in a close-knit squad though, fringe players stepping up with aplomb on several occasions.

And McCarthy, highly conscious of not disrupting the spirit in the camp, has therefore reiterated that he will only dip into the loan market if key long-term injuries strike.

He said: “I can’t do anything before this game, so what’s the point in me breaking my neck to go out and get somebody who, if everybody’s fit, wouldn’t play anyway?”

Does the Blues boss think his small squad, having got to third in the Championship table at this stage, has the depth to cope with a demanding second half of the season?

“I don’t see why not,” said McCarthy. “I can’t guarantee results, all I can guarantee is performances – maximum effort, professionalism and focus. They have been terrific so far. I don’t see why that should suddenly change.

“If we get injuries because of the amount of games they play then we still have the loan window up until March.”

On the flip side of that, there will be no key departures at Portman Road before the end of the month. McCarthy has stated several times that owner Marcus Evans will not be selling in the middle of a promotion push and reiterated that yesterday when asked about the latest speculation surrounding much-sought-after left-back Tyrone Mings.

With Stoke City the latest Premier League club linked with the 21-year-old, McCarthy said: “He’s not going anywhere. He might as well hear that because sometimes they think ‘is it going to happen, isn’t it going to happen?’ Why would he not want to try and get promoted with us? We’re in a really good position.”

The likes of Dean Gerken, Jonathan Parr, Darren Ambrose, Stephen Hunt and Kevin Bru are set to return to the Town team on Wednesday, McCarthy revealing he’ll play a similar side to the one which battled to a 1-1 draw at St Mary’s.

– See tomorrow’s EADT and Ipswich Star for full match preview,