Ipswich Town boss Paul Lambert likes what he’s seen of trialist James Wilson but insists the defender still has plenty to prove if he is to win a contract this summer.

East Anglian Daily Times: James Wilson is on trial at Ipswich Town. Picture: STEVE WALLER WWW.STEPHENWALLER.COMJames Wilson is on trial at Ipswich Town. Picture: STEVE WALLER WWW.STEPHENWALLER.COM (Image: � Copyright Stephen Waller)

The 30-year-old central defender, capped once by Wales, is a free agent after leaving Lincoln earlier this summer and began training with the Blues on Wednesday.

He played 45-minutes against Colchester last night and was comfortable during a half when the Ipswich backline were barely tested by the League Two side.

Lambert stressed the defender is well short of fitness but has been pleased with the defender's early showing.

"He's only trained with us for a couple of days," Lambert said.

East Anglian Daily Times: James Wilson has been training with Ipswich Town after leaving Lincoln City. Picture: PAJames Wilson has been training with Ipswich Town after leaving Lincoln City. Picture: PA (Image: PA Archive/PA Images)

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"He's not done anything during pre-season and we asked if we could have a look at him.

"He did well when he came on but is miles short of match fitness, which he will probably admit himself, but is comfortable with the ball and has been a good player.

"His game and training time is really down.

"We had a very young team out there and I still think we need a little help. We've got a lot of players injured, big players so we still need to get two or three in if we can but it's not easy."

Central defence is an area of need for the Blues, with Toto Nsiala ruled out for six weeks with a hamstring injury suffered in Germany last weekend.

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Captain Luke Chambers looks a certain starter this season but is not available for the opening-day trip to Burton, due to the red card he was shown on the final day of last season against Leeds.

That leaves just youngster Luke Woolfenden and Corrie Ndaba as central defensive options for the game at the Pirelli Stadium as things stand, with full-back Myles Kenlock given 45 minutes in the heart of the back four against the U's.