Greaves: I Feel Like I’ve Built on Each Performance
Tuesday, 28th Apr 2026 11:47 by Kallum Brisset
Town defender Jacob Greaves says he is loving his extended run in the Blues’ starting XI and that he has continued to build on impressive performances.
Suspension for Cédric Kipré and additional unavailability for Leif Davis over the last month has opened the door for Greaves to return to Town’s lineup at both centre-back and left-back.
The Blues defender has started each of the last eight league matches and looks set to continue ahead of Tuesday’s hotly anticipated trip to fellow promotion rivals Southampton.
Greaves, who recently surpassed 50 matches for the club, feels he has improved in recent weeks and also highlighted the impact of Kipré on Town’s success so far this season.
“I’ve really enjoyed it,” he said. “Cédric had a two-game suspension, so I knew that I had an opportunity to come in and play and deliver a performance. I had a real grit about me to come into the games and do well.
“I had the Sheffield Wednesday game which we left quite late with the win there. I picked up a dead leg in the game, the tackle where the kid maybe should have been sent off for it. I was carrying a dead leg for the rest of the week and that was a really sore one so I probably wasn’t at my best in the Millwall game.
“I felt like I’d built on each performance, got a little bit more rhythm as the games have gone on. I’ve really enjoyed playing week in, week out for the last however many games it has been, and it’s something you miss. I’ve really enjoyed being out there with the boys trying to deliver a performance to help contribute towards our goal.
“Cédric would’ve probably been my vote for one of the players of the year. He’d have definitely been a contender for it.
“When he has played, he’s been excellent, and you’ve got to understand that as a team player. When somebody in your position is doing well, it is what it is, and you’ve got to be ready to get your opportunity.
“I know they’ll be a chance for me to come in and play at left-back. When the gaffer does put me in at centre-half, sometimes you’ve got to wait for a suspension to get your opportunity. It was unfortunate for him, but for me to come in and do well was my only goal. It’s been a good battle this season.”
While his versatility has paid dividends, it is no secret that Greaves prefers to play as one of the central defenders, with Davis usually deployed as the swashbuckling full-back alongside him.
Town captain Dara O’Shea is an ever-present at the heart of the defence, and Greaves says his partnership with the Irishman has come on leaps and bounds since their debut season at the club.
He said: “When you have two new centre-halves coming to a new club, it can be different at times because you’re thrown in having not really had much training time and you’re just piecing together each other’s game. The more you can develop that partnership, the better.
“He’s a really easy player to play with in terms of the attributes that he has. It makes the game easier for everyone around him. You’ve probably seen that in the last however many games that we’ve been doing alright together, and hopefully that can continue.
“When you’re in and out, or playing left-back one game and centre-back the next, sometimes it can be hard to pick up a rhythm. You know that you’ve got to take what you do in training into the games, and when I was doing that I was really enjoying it.
“Starting eight games has been fantastic for me and I’ve really enjoyed picking up more of a rhythm. You see that in your fitness and performance that you’re going into the games with a little bit more confidence knowing that you’re off the back of a good game.”
On playing as a left-back, a role he has been tasked with six times this season, Greaves said: “It’s a different one, but one I really do enjoy at times. The other day, I enjoyed the aspect of going forward.
“Sometimes I can find myself in the wrong position because it’s foreign to me in the way this manager plays it. It’s a different type of fitness, a lot more running, but one I really enjoy. If I can help the lads out in any way, I’m more than happy to do that.”
The former Hull City defender added: “It’s a very new group this year. It probably took a little bit of time to gel. As the games have gone on, we’ve come closer as a group.
“The last three or four games, like the Charlton one where we go a goal down, the Birmingham one where we go 1-0 down. The West Brom game the other day, Walts [Christian Walton] makes the big save and we could have easily been 1-0 down. We dig deep, come together and stick together, and we’ve picked up good results in them games.
“We’ve been to Portsmouth three times, the third time wasn’t much better losing 2-0 and having to drive back. It was probably one of our worst performances of the year so I’m glad to see the back of Portsmouth, if I’m honest.
“A lot of time on the road together, another long trip, but it’s a really good group and I really enjoy the travelling being with the lads. We all sit together at the back of the bus and play little footy games. There’s an app and we’ve been bashing it. I’ve really looked forward to having the long journeys, to be honest.”
Earlier this month, the Blues defeated arch-rivals Norwich City 2-0 at Carrow Road to complete a first league double over the Canaries in more than 30 years.
It proved to be one of the most impressive defensive performances of the campaign, with Greaves admitting that he was delighted with the way that Town dealt with the occasion.
“The Norwich one was a good one,” he said. “I never really knew what the atmosphere was like until we went into that game. Nacho [Marcelino Núñez], being from Norwich and playing that pantomime villain does my head in at times, but you can see how fierce that derby is and that relationship between the two sets of fans. It was one that I quite enjoyed.
“It was a massive win for us, under pressure a lot, and to get that clean sheet was a big one for us to build on. You can see what it meant to the fans and the lads, it was a big one. Hopefully that can be a big one counting for us towards the end of the season.
“We knew that we were going to come under pressure, a lot of set plays and a lot of crosses. We knew that we had to do our job to give the lads an opportunity up front to go and create opportunities.
“We got the two goals in the first half and they had to come all guns blazing to get back into the game. We knew when we defended those opportunities, there were going to be chances on the counter, and it could have been three or four towards the end of the game.
“It was a resilient performance from everyone, not just the back line. A lot of running and we’re going to have to take that into the Southampton game, a similar team to Norwich in terms of the way they want to play and build. We can take things from that into this one.”
Photo: TWTD
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