Paul Lambert has challenged Teddy Bishop to make his mark as the midfielder continues his bid for fitness following three injury-hit seasons.
Bishop has played just 24 minutes of senior football this season, at Exeter in the Carabao Cup in August, having made just a combined 28 appearances over the last three campaigns.
New boss Lambert is impressed with what he’s seen from Bishop, who has trained regularly since his arrival at the start of this month as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury, but the Ipswich manager wants to see the midfielder deliver on the field.
“I think he’s getting stronger, I think he’s getting fitter,” Lambert said of Bishop, who is out of contract at the end of the season.
“The problem with Bishop was that he couldn’t sustain training days. He was breaking down, training, break down, train, never giving himself a chance.
“But he’s not really missed any training since we’ve been here, so he’s getting stronger, he’s getting fitter.
“As I said before, a huge talent, a really huge talent. But he’s 22 years of age. He’s got to leave potential at the door.
“He’s not a kid, he’s got to start to make a mark on it. I’ve had a chat with him about it and he understands. He’s a really good footballer, really good. And we have to get the best from him.”
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Ellis Harrison is also nearing a playing return after suffering an ankle injury at the end of September, but neither Emyr Huws or Tom Adeyemi are likely to play again in 2018.
Huws has suffered a setback as he continues to work through knee issues, while Adeyemi has undergone Achilles surgery.
“They’re looking at January for Tom,” Lambert said. “Huws is doing well but he had a little setback with his injury and if we can get him in training and back fit, it’s going to be great for us.
“Ellis has actually started back training, which is great. He’s a little bit short of match fitness but he’s a strong player, a strong centre forward, a little bit short of match fitness but doing really well.
“Huws is another one, he can’t keep breaking down, train, break down, train, break down. It’s no good for anybody. He has to have a sustainable level of training and then he breaks the back of the injury syndrome.
“He’s one kid you want to get really fit because I think he’ll make a huge impact the way he passes the ball, which is important for me.”
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