Town boss Paul Jewell says he’ll make the decision on his starting line-up for Saturday’s season opener at Bristol City on Thursday. The Blues manager is still hoping to add to his seven new signings before his squad make the trip to Ashton Gate.

Speaking after Saturday’s unlucky 2-1 friendly defeat to Wolves, Jewell said: “Probably Thursday we’ll make that decision. We’ll see how the week pans out. You can make a decision on Monday and then someone gets injured on Tuesday.

“We’ll see how things go and see if anyone comes in, who comes in and then we’ll make that decision as quickly as we possibly can.”

The Blues boss used a 4-5-1 formation against Wolves with Mark Kennedy in the holding midfield role which is likely to be occupied by Keith Andrews if and when his loan switch from Blackburn is confirmed.

Jewell says he was experimenting with his options and wasn’t specifically thinking about next week’s game against the Robins: “I wanted to have a look at something. Sparky’s a good passer of the ball and he’s got experience.

“Pre-season’s all about having a look. I’m still not settled on my formation and my final XI for Bristol City yet, not by a long chalk.”

The Liverpudlian has always been an advocate of the 4-4-2 formation at his previous clubs but feels 4-5-1 currently gets the best out of his squad: “I would like to play 4-4-2 but I want us to be adaptable.

“I think that at the moment with the personnel we’ve got, the system we played against Wolves probably suits us that bit better.

“We have to pass the ball in that system and when we don’t pass the ball, when we get a little bit tired like we did in the second half, we get a little bit stretched and the system falls down a little bit.

"So, we must pass it with a purpose and I thought for the first hour against Wolves we certainly did that.”

Meanwhile, Everton’s Irish defender Shane Duffy has dismissed rumours that he’s joining Town on loan, but the 19-year-old, who faced the Blues during a spell with Burnley last season, says he wouldn’t be averse to such a switch, tweeting: “Haven’t heard anything yet. Would be a great move if it happened.”

Elsewhere, released winger Reggie Lambe is currently on trial at Cambridge United. Lambe has already spent time with Bristol Rovers, Newport County, Southend and Gillingham this summer.

Story syndicated from TWTD.co.uk

Photo: Action Images

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