Town manager Paul Jewell says he has been eyeing new loan keeper Alex McCarthy for some while and tried to sign him in the summer. McCarthy, who is set to make his debut at Birmingham this evening, is with the Blues for three months having signed a new permanent contract until 2015 with Reading earlier in the week.

Jewell said: “He first came to my attention when I saw him play at Yeovil a couple of years ago and when we played against Reading last season I thought he was excellent - a big presence in goal, calm.

“We tried to get him in the summer but there was no way Reading would sell him. However, with Adam Federici and Mikkel Andersen they’re quite well off for goalkeepers and they want them to play. He’s signed a new deal and he’s played for the England U21s.

“They think he’s got huge potential and it suits them for him to be playing games in the Championship. We’re delighted to have him.”

In a perfect world Jewell says he’d prefer to have signed a keeper on a permanent basis but feels there are limited options out there: “We’d like to sign Alex McCarthy [permanently], to be honest. There is a lack of really top quality keepers about and it gives us that little bit of extra time to try and get over this season and try to get one in for the start of next season.

“I don’t think there’s [a chance of extending the loan] because if we had him for the season that would stop him being available for the play-offs and Reading were keen to protect themselves.”

He admits the 24-hour recall is far from perfect: “That doesn’t kick in until after the first month but that’s the same with anyone. It’s a three-month loan and for the first 28 days they can’t recall him. After that there’s a 24-hour recall, which is what normally happens with any player.

“It’s not ideal, but it gives us a little bit of time to have a good look at Alex and for him to have a good look at us.”

Meanwhile, sacked QPR boss Neil Warnock, who has been linked with the Blues and his former side Plymouth, says he’s undecided about his immediate plans but has already received a variety of approaches: “I’m not sure what I want to do right now, but I’ve been inundated with offers in football and media work, and maybe an advisory role somewhere might be attractive.”

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