Ipswich Town manager Paul Hurst says starting new boy Jordan Roberts as a striker in Saturday’s 2-0 friendly defeat at Braintree Town was a needs-must situation.

Roberts, a Bosman free transfer addition from League Two side Crawley Town, is a left-winger by trade.

However, he spearheaded the Blues’ attack at Cressing Road with Freddie Sears out on the left, Martyn Waghorn in behind and Grant Ward on the right.

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Joe Garner was absent with a knock sustained in the previous 1-0 win against Kilmarnock, while David McGoldrick departed Town earlier this summer when his contract expired.

Roberts did play as an emergency striker for Crawley last season – the team Town face in their last friendly tonight – but Hurst says he has no plans to convert him into a front man.

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“No, that’s kind of where we are at the moment,” he said. “He has played there and we just thought we’d have a look at him. He gives us a little bit of pace up there at times, but I would have preferred to have played him wide really.

“We switched it just before the end with Freddie (Sears) going down the middle. I’ll have to look at that going forwards as to whether we give it another look or put him back out wide where he was realistically brought in to play.

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“At the minute we haven’t got too many options in all honesty. We’ll have to keep looking at what we have got and try to figure out the best way of people getting the minutes and hopefully playing in positions we want them to.”