Paul Hurst was full of praise for striker Freddie Sears following his side’s 3-2 victory at Swansea.
The former Colchester men led the line alone as the Blues secured their first victory under Hurst’s management, offering his side an outlet, assisting Gwion Edwards’ goal and forcing Mike van der Hoorn to put through his own net.
“He was (excellent),” Hurst said.
“We spoke about how Swansea play and I think when you win the ball back, if you are willing to look forwards you can get in off of that and I thought we did that at times.
“He’s a very clever player in terms of his movement. I’ve seen somewhere that the second one has been given as an own goal, which seems a bit harsh.
“As far as I’m concerned he scored, whether the records say that or not. But he was outstanding, worked hard but also used his brain at times - when he wouldn’t have been able to get the ball then conserved some energy but he was a good outlet for us.”
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Sears and Kayden Jackson are set to shoulder the Blues striking loan until January at least, with Jon Walters back at Burnley after partially rupturing his achilles and Ellis Harrison ruled out for up to two months with an ankle issue.
Hurst and his team are exploring the free agent market – the only recruitment option open to the Blues at present – but options are limited.
Hurst handed a first start in more than a year to Andre Dozzell, with the Blues boss impressed by the teenager’s display at the point of the Ipswich midfield.
“I thought he did well,” Hurst said. “He brought a calmness on the ball and picked some nice passes.
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“We thought it would be one of our hardest games and it proved to be that, so credit to him for his performance.
“He used brain power to sometimes not chase when he didn’t have to and, as much as we want to try and get a press on teams, that was difficult today.
“We could try and do it from a start point but after that we had to be very disciplined and play from there.
“He’ll be pleased to get back out there and I think he brought some quality on the ball to us that we needed.”
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