Gary Rowett confirmed today that young striker Jack Storer has added to his three match ban with an injury to his foot, caused by kicking the advertising hoardings in frustration after receiving a red card for “a collision” with Wolves’ Kortney Hause.

For the 18-year-old striker it’s another footballing lesson to learn; not only is it silly to be wound up and sent off when you’ve won a free kick but it’s even worse if you semi-cripple yourself lashing out in frustration. At the start of August as Storer was making the headlines for the right reasons, I remember saying

He may be on fire now but it’s all about how he reacts to a poor performance, or a perceived injustice. Part of making the step up from youth football to first team football is mental; being able to consistently perform to a standard and to be able to cope with defeat and failure.

This is exactly the kind of issue I was referring to; it was obvious in pre-season friendlies like the Port Vale game that while the former Stevenage striker knows how to hit the back of the net he also has a fiery temper to match and sooner rather than later that was going to be an issue. How he returns from this could well be an indicator of just how much chance he has of making it.

With James Vaughan now gone and Nicolai Brock-Madsen all but forgotten this could have been a great opportunity to really cement a place in the squad – even with a three match ban. Now, it could be Rowett brings in yet another striker to supplement Donaldson and Adams or it could be another member of the development squad makes the step up. Interestingly for fans and proponents of Ronan Hale – all the people I know in the club have said he has a similar style to Storer – a goalscorer with a fiery temper…

While Storer kicks his heels in frustration another “bad boy” type player could be making the next step into full reformation of character and a firm place in the squad. Following three matches as “19th man”, Reece Brown is all but ensured of a place in the matchday squad after an injury to Stephen Gleeson has left the Irishman on crutches temporarily.

After a season of being increasingly on the sidelines, Brown has come back into the thinking of Gary Rowett with a vengeance. Indeed, there has been an argument that the loaning out of Andy Shinnie was purely because Reece is seen as as that good a prospect to play the number 10 position. I have to admit I think Brown will play slightly further back than as an out and out attacking midfielder – but there is no denying that if he can show some of the touches and vision he did in pre-season that he could well be another asset for Rowett.

This could well be important; Rowett has admitted in his press conference today that he may well have to let more players go – even “sacrifice” a player to bring in another player or two of a decent calibre. I’m not going to claim any insider knowledge here but I wonder if Rowett is looking at his central midfield and thinking he can let go of someone like David Davis or even the aforementioned Gleeson to free up more money to bring in someone of a better calibre? I can only imagine the conniption in some quarters if that is the case.

Tags: Jack Storer, Reece Brown