Boss Roy Keane was pleased to see striker Connor Wickham play two full games while away with the England U19s during the international break. The 17-year-old, who missed much of pre-season and the start of the campaign with an ankle injury, was given a 16-minute cameo in the second of the three matches and opened his account at that level with a goal on his debut as England qualified for the next phase.

Keane says Wickham, again linked with Tottenham and Arsenal in recent days, needed to get games under his belt having gone straight back into the Town side after his injury: “Connor’s not been able to get to 90 because we threw him back in the first team squad, which wasn’t ideal.

“Any player coming back from injury will tell you they need minutes under their belt - Damien, Luca, Shane O’Connor. Connor’s had that with England and I’m sure he’ll have been well looked after.

“I was delighted that he went away. He’s had a change of environment and he’s been playing with some good young players, so he’s not gone away to a poor level of football. They’ve had good results and apparently he’s done pretty well, which is no surprise.”

Keane hinted that Wickham will again be amongst his subs when the Blues face Coventry at Portman Road on Saturday: “We have to look at the bigger picture with Connor, especially with Jason and Tamás. I think Tamás has scored three goals, Jason has scored three goals, so there’s no mad rush to start Connor and he can learn his trade by sitting on the bench and then coming on.

“He has been a good sub to throw on, particularly at home. He came on in the last game, he came on against QPR. He gives us something, gives us good options.”

The Blues boss says he made a trip to Scotland to watch Spain in action as they defeated the home side 3-2 in a Eur 2012 qualifier on Tuesday: “It was a treat for myself. It’s not every day you get the chance to watch the world champions. They were an absolute joy to watch.

“I went up with a couple of members of staff. You have to watch these good teams if you get the opportunity. Outstanding. Brilliant to watch.

“Who would I compare them to? England in 1966? Argentina when they won it? Brazil? I don’t know. They’re European and World champions, so they’re no mugs, even with Torres, Fabregas and Xavi missing."

Story syndicated from TWTD.co.uk

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