Mick praises Marcus, hopeful for Julio

Mick McCarthy heaped praise on supposedly wantaway striker Marcus Stewart today, after the team's 3-1 defeat of Doncaster Rovers - but again stopped short of an absolute denial that the former Ipswich man may be on his way out of the Stadium of Light.

Stewart has been influential in the team's pre-season tour this summer, and the gaffer singled him out for praise for his efforts.

"He put in another great shift," said McCarthy. "He's been excellent. There was some suggestion that he might leave. That's been no fault of his. He's just got his head down. I've been delighted with him."

And McCarthy played down fears for Julio Arca's fitness after the crowd favourite limped off with a thigh strain, with the first game of the season proper less than a week away.

He said "We'll see how he is; he's got the rest of the week to recover. Hopefully he's all right but we can't tell at this stage."