Interim Town boss John McGreal says a couple of players have had to drop out of the squad ahead of Saturday’s home game with Sunderland having come into close contact with people with Covid but there have been no positive tests.

The weekend fixture list has been decimated by Covid but McGreal says the Blues are relatively unaffected going into the match.

“We’ve got a couple of people who have been in close contact so they have to come out of the squad, but apart from that we’re quite fine,” he said at his final pre-match press conference in charge of Town.

“We’ve done everything that we can with the protocols, the club is in a great position. There are two or three to a lot of the dressing rooms here, so it’s all spread out, the meetings are spread out and kept within 15 minutes.

“Even the other night [at Barrow], we went up on the two coaches and there were face masks everywhere. We’re doing the best that we can.

“Obviously there are a lot of games off but it’s a testament to our club really that our game’s still on.

“We’ve still got a lot of players that we can choose from, we’ve got a big squad to choose from. It’s all systems go on our behalf.”

The Blues have been without Wes Burns (hamstring), Hayden Coulson, Bersant Celina and Bailey Clements in recent games, while Jon Nolan is a long-term absentee and Toto Nsiala looked to pick up a knock on Wednesday evening.

Asked whether he was able to say whether anyone was back from injury, McGreal said: “Not really! I keep everything close. There are a lot of players to choose from, that’s the big thing. We have got a big squad to choose from.

“There are things we’ve worked on this morning and we’ll go with a team that fits and suits and we think can get the three points.”

Town have had a lot of travelling over the last week with Saturday’s trip to Wigan followed by Wednesday’s FA Cup visit to Barrow with the squad flying from Stansted to Manchester while making their way to Cumbria.

Quizzed on whether he thinks that will have any impact on the players, McGreal responded: “None, to be quite honest. It shouldn’t do. The club provided the best travelling facility to get us up and down from Barrow.

“They’ve recovered quite well yesterday, we put on a training session today and they’re really bright.

“And also they’ve got the added bonus of knowing that there’s a full capacity nearly at Portman Road. If that doesn’t get you going and that doesn’t get you running around, then maybe the some of the guys are in the wrong game, because it’s all to play for on our behalf.”

It's understood not all the members of the Blues ownership who were due at tomorrow's game have made the trip due to the current situation regarding air travel.

Photo: TWTD

Paulc added 13:10 - Dec 17 Won't be anyone from the Barrow playing staff - one this we did do well on Wednesday was observe social distancing!
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Europablue added 13:29 - Dec 17 We created unnecessary risk by having two away games in the first place, but the most important thing is Covid safety, so it's good that we're out of the cups.
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Europablue added 13:31 - Dec 17 Can't the players who have had covid already just be exempt? Also, am I missing something, is there a major reason why a group of people who are extremely unlikely to get anything more than slightly ill are shielding and also living in a constant state of isolation?
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Furrow added 13:38 - Dec 17 Europa blue having had it does not stop you from getting it again. You don't feel so bad with it, but you are still a carrier whilst you have it.
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londonben added 13:43 - Dec 17 Fairly sure close contacts only have to isolate if they haven't been vaccinated. Hope that's not the case though…if it is then they shouldn't be playing at all imo, they're putting everyone else at risk.
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KernewekBlue added 13:49 - Dec 17 Europablue, The COVID-19 virus is once again on the rise, due in the main, it seems, to the OMICRON variant strains. This virus has proven to be fatal in a lot of cases, even in some people who have been double vaccinated and boosted (albeit most have been elderly and/or had underlying health problems to begin with). When all's said and done, is it really worth taking a risk with the player's health and the wellbeing of those that come into contact with them, just for a game of football? I think not! When Bill Shankly famously said, "Somebody said that football's a matter of life and death to you... I said 'listen, it's more important than that'.", he couldn't have possibly foreseen a situation like this current pandemic... if he did, I think he would have chosen not to say that. Sanity must prevail... safety first above all else.

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Europablue added 14:06 - Dec 17 KernewekBlue Then you need to answer this question: when does it end? Safety first above all else is a nonsense mantra that we have never lived with before. What people seemed to have forgotten over two years of being locked up is that life has always been about balancing risk, and we are prioritizing treatment and prevention of covid over all sorts of other illnesses that will prove more damaging in the long term. The average age of people dying with covid is 82, which is higher than life expectancy in general. I am guessing that you don't have children, because if you did your safety first above all else would mean that it would be too dangerous for them to go to school or have any interactions in the real world. Having Covid gives you a fairly decent amount of immunity against catching it again and suffering symptoms, so there is a very clear difference between people who have had it and people who have not. As it is not for others to dictate the risk that I am prepared to take on, it's not for me to decide the risk that these footballers are prepared to take on. So I can only speak for myself and say that, yes it would certainly be worth the tiny risk to my health to play football outside. In fact, I would consider it more damaging to my health not to get exercise, fresh air, and social contact. It's not just about football anymore, it's about having a life rather than surviving.

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Paddy39 added 14:15 - Dec 17 25% of players have not had a covid Jab. If people in care homes are made to have the inoculation to secure their jobs in this country then all footballers should be made to do the same. They earn enough.
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MickMillsTash added 14:25 - Dec 17 I cant believe that players on 10K+ week have not been made to have a jab by the club. If they get Covid and are out for 3-4 weeks rather than 2 then that's quite a lot of money and a risk. I guess Kimmich at Bayern Munich will be expected to be paid whilst he is out with Covid despite deciding not to have a jab.
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Ryorry added 14:36 - Dec 17 Europablue - so if you had a broken leg or heart attack (I sincerely hope you don't), you wouldn't mind going completely untreated because of the NHS being overwhelmed by the sheer number of those hospitalized with Covid?
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ButchersBrokenNose added 14:41 - Dec 17 "It's understood not all the members of the Blues ownership who were due at tomorrow's game have made the trip due to the current situation regarding air travel." I live in the US and travel home regularly and I haven't seen any changes regarding flying to England. You get your shots, you book a test before you leave and then you take the test when you land. Pretty straightforward. I hope this isn't an example of the new owners demonstrating that they're not fully committed to Town.

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Radlett_blue added 14:46 - Dec 17 Is Jon Nolan ever going to be fit again, or has he become the new Tom Adeyemi?
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midastouch added 14:46 - Dec 17 I wouldn't mind if some of the players that played Wed need to socially distance from ITFC permanently!
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Europablue added 14:49 - Dec 17 Paddy39 Do you understand the nature of the two jobs you are comparing? People working in care homes are working with the most vulnerable group. Footballers are just working with each other and some older working-age people who have the option to get vaccinated if they want to reduce their risk. It is irrelevant how much they are paid.
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braveblue added 14:52 - Dec 17 If they are vaccinated they don't need to isolate. Maybe that is the issue.
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Monkey_Blue added 14:59 - Dec 17 I'd forgotten Nolan even existed.
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Europablue added 15:04 - Dec 17 Ryorry It's more complicated than a quick question. First of all, do you submit to the concept of it being your duty to protect the NHS, or perhaps should the health service be set up to keep us healthy? If you look into things you will see that capacity in terms of beds has not actually increased as you would imagine, but it has gone down. I don't people have been paying attention, but the NHS struggling in the winter is an annular occurrence and it is something that we can plan ahead for. The very important thing about healthcare is that it isn't a human right, because it costs money to provide healthcare and when we self-inflict damage on the economy we damage our potential to be able to afford high-quality healthcare for all. Thankfully I have very good health coverage (even if I pay a lot and hardly use it) because I don't live in the UK and don't have to suffer the NHS (a terrible system that is the envy of absolutely no country in the civilized world). I don't think I would have a heart attack at my age, but if I did it would have been covid-restriction induced. If my dad had a heart attack, I would expect the NHS to prioritize his treatment over the treatment of my grandfather if he had a severe case of covid. It's a horrible thing to talk about, but our resources have to be prioritized all the time. The other thing is that we need to have a referendum on whether we would agree to be a perpetual lockdown every winter to protect the NHS, or if we would go back to how we have lived for all human history and balance risk sensibly to allow young people to enjoy the same privileges as we did growing up. It's all about perspective.

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number8 added 15:18 - Dec 17 Looking forward to what he does. Those blaming systems and wanting 442 maybe disappointed. It was never about that it was about application and desire. You'd think he'll be very tactically aware and flexible and reactive with that which Cook wasn't. It will be interesting to see how he sets up as with Jose and Ole they both used 4231 at times. I do feel Cook needed more time when changing 19 players but probably makes me think he was never their choice as it was portrayed. Now though, this guy needs time to build. I still believe anything is possible this year but if it takes time I hope the owners are willing.to give it and back him!! Looking forward to the ride 👍

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markchips added 17:01 - Dec 17 The Nolan situation is a perfect example of what needs to stop from now on at Ipswich. If he is serially injured his contract needs to be looked at. The amount of money wasted on the likes of him, kenlock and Jackson alone should be enough to at least get one decent loan in ?
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blues1 added 17:16 - Dec 17 Braveblue. Where have u been tbe past month or so. The rules on self isolation changed a while ago. Everyone now has to self isolate if in close contact with some1 who's tested positive.
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blues1 added 17:22 - Dec 17 Butchersbrokennose. Think you'll find the travel restrictions may be different from different parts of the USA. Not so much from the UK end, but from the USA itself. As for suggesting rubbish like it means they're not committed? Typical comment from some on social media. Never happy unless looking for something negative to post.
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rgp1 added 18:44 - Dec 17 Watch out Kim Yong Blues1 is about! ready to dictate to others without along reasoned debate!
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rgp1 added 18:47 - Dec 17 Allowing reasoned debate.
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Ryorry added 05:38 - Dec 18 Europablue - your bizarre comment "the NHS (a terrible system that is the envy of absolutely no country in the civilized world") is about as far from the truth as it's possible to get. You sound rather like those Tories who have vested interests in private health companies.
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