With bids being turned down for Will Grigg and Palace apparently tracking Josh Maja, Jack Ross has been chatting about his new arrival, Jimmy Dunne, who goes straight into the squad for the Luton game.
“He’ll be in the squad,” Ross said. “He trained at Burnley for a full week and then had the game with their U23s. No problems, he’s fit and I’m happy. Playing in the U23s was probably perfect for us. Initially, maybe naively, I hoped we could get it all done so he could play on Tuesday but that wasn’t possible for all sorts of reasons so getting those minutes under his belt was good. There’s obviously various areas of the country where I’ll have better knowledge and some where Tony Coton will have better knowledge. It’s good because we can all feed in a lot of players of information. Jimmy was one that naturally I watched because I still watch a lot of Scottish football and understand what is going on. In terms of references it was dead easy because of the players we know there. Then there’s the fact that Craig Samson actually played against him which was unusual but useful. He knows everybody in Scottish football anyway and can give you chapter and verse. So from my perspective it was easy, and it then allowed Tony to watch him. Tony then has a really good relationship with Sean Dyche as well. There’s a big process we went through and ultimately we just felt he was a really good fit for the club at this moment. He was obviously schooled at Manchester United and generally you get a certain type and character, in terms of how they carry themselves and how they train. People will quickly get that from Jimmy. His attitude and desire to do well is clear from the first moment you speak to him. I think that’s why he’s adjusted to every level and challenge he’s had so far, he just wants to take it on. Loan players are difficult to always get right, you’ve seen that we’ve tried not to have too many of them in our squad. Although Jimmy is young, he’s had successful loan spells. He was part of a successful Accrington side and then this season, although he got injured, he was part of a Hearts side that had a terrific start to the season. I’ve worked at that club on the coaching side, so I know how big a club that is and the pressures that come from playing in that Stadium. So a loan signing, he’s as good as we could get and as a young man, he fits the profile for us.”
