Chukwuemeka and Jones 'in the frame' to start after impressing Brady

Academy striker was a 'bright spark' off the bench at Posh
Caleb Chukwuemeka.Caleb Chukwuemeka.
Caleb Chukwuemeka.

Academy striker Caleb Chukwuemeka has put himself 'in the frame' to earn more minutes for the Cobblers after impressing Jon Brady both in training and during recent cameo appearances.

The 19-year-old has made only one league start this season and, until recently, had been handed just two substitute appearances by Brady since he replaced Keith Curle in early February.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But having upped his work ethic in training, Chukwuemeka came off the bench against Bristol Rovers and Peterborough and caught the eye in both games. Given Town's struggles for goals this season and their now desperate need for points, Brady could be tempted to give him more game-time.

"Caleb has worked a lot harder in training and that's reflected in the opportunities we have given him on the pitch," said Town's manager. "When he's come on, he's looked like a bright spark and he's added to the team.

"I've coached Caleb for four or five years now so I know what he can do but we have to drive him to get the best out of him, but he's certainly put himself in the frame."

Fellow striker Alex Jones should be fit enough to start again when Cobblers host Ipswich Town this evening following his lively display in defeat to Peterborough.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Brady added: "We need to be careful with AJ because he's not fully fit but he did well the other night and we hope he can build on that if given the opportunity.

"Obviously we need to be careful with him and we couldn't have kept him out there too much longer but he gave it everything he had.

"The boy hadn't played for 18 months so we've had to build and build his minutes and on Friday we gave him an opportunity and I thought he did very well.

"He's very clever with his movements and his hold-up play. He worked so hard and said 'I'm done' but we managed to get 70 minutes out of him and that's a positive for us."