Let’s be brutally frank about this. Our attack looks reasonable. Our midfield looks good. Our defence, on the other hand, looks decidedly feeble and this has to be a serious cause for concern. The new campaign is but weeks away and yet manager Paul Lambert still seems a bit confused about who he should employ at the back?

Playing a 4-3-3 formation should delight supporters and owner Marcus Evans too, but is the squad capable of employing Lambert’s strategy of playing out from the back. On more recent evidence I think not. Luke Chambers has been found wanting again, and Lambert has publicly chastised young Luke Woolfenden by saying “Woolfenden I think has got to start to get going and start to perform.”

This has got Town supporters chatting and most of them seem to think that these comments are undeserved. He recently signed a new four-year contract and he has attracted the attention of a number of clubs but there may be a method to Lambert’s apparent madness here. Luke is a cool dude. Too cool for comfort at times, and his casual manner is enough to make most coaching staff feel rather nervous. It is both his strength and his weakness, and for a central defender with a bright future in the game, he still has a lot to learn.

So let us take a closer look at our defensive rearguard and try to envisage who fits more comfortably in those round pegs for round holes.

Luke Chambers: I thought he might steady the defensive ship this season, now that he has been relieved of the captaincy but now I am not so sure? He does not have the pace to be moved to right-back – except in emergencies, and he always seems to have the tendency to throw a spanner in the works!

Luke Wolfenden: Forget what the manager might say about him just to gee him up because Woolfy will be the first choice this term from the outset. He will make mistakes but his overall performance will be good. He does, however, need an old-head by his side but I no longer think it should be Chambers.

Toto Nsiala: I have been very impressed with him in our pre-season friendlies and he must surely be knocking on the door of a first-team place. At 28, he is the perfect age to be pushing on and that seems to be exactly what he is doing right now. He is physically robust and is less inclined to make those rash challenges that cost him and Ipswich Town dear in months gone by. I think he is good enough to stake a claim and could work well with a left-sided central defender.

James Wilson: When he is fully fit again he must get a place in the side I feel. Unfortunately perhaps, he is another central defender who relies primarily on his right foot and what we need at the back is someone who is  left footed, and can complement a right-sided centre back, in order to give us more balance. At 31, he is the right age to accompany Luke Woolfenden but this right versus left imbalance is one of the main reasons we seem sometimes so decidedly lopsided.

Corrie Ndaba: At just 20 years of age he is still very young but his pre-season performances have impressed me massively. He is also left-footed! The trouble, of course, is that he falls into a similar category to Woolfenden, and he needs an old-head to guide him through games.

All this considered, it seems as if we are still in need of an experienced left-sided centre-back – unless Lambert could mould the ageing Stephen Ward into playing there? He is, afterall, good in the air, tall enough and left footed but most of his career has been spent playing left-back so is he too old to change his spots?