ROBERT Koren's match-winning cameo role at Ipswich has certainly given manager Steve Bruce some food for thought ahead of today's trip to Wolves.
Whilst Koren has undoubted match-winning qualities in his locker, I've been critical of him at times this season because he doesn't always bring it to every game. He drifts in and out.
But having seen his captain come off the subs' bench to pop up with a crucial winner, Bruce leapt to his defence and rightly so after such an important goal.
Okay, so Koren is sometimes not suited to matches where you need to dig in to get a result, but if he is on his game he can be a real match-winner.
The 32-year-old brings the threat of ten goals a season from midfield, an asset any manager would love to have, but Bruce not starting him at Ipswich has again prompted him to find his best form.
That could be crucial for City at such a key stage in the season.
Koren was very well employed as a super-sub at Ipswich and it's a role he does well.
When opposition legs are tiring in the last 20 minutes, he is a great player to have in reserve if you need to change the course of a game.
That's exactly what he did at the weekend by popping up with a great header after losing his man inside the box to score the winner.
If Corry Evans had not picked up his tenth booking of the season at the weekend, I think Koren would have again had to settle for a place on the bench at Wolves.
Having grasped his chance to make a start, Evans did well enough to keep the shirt because everything City did well went through him. He was neat on the ball, put a foot in when it needed it and linked up all of the Tigers' best attacking play.
Unfortunately, he now misses the next two games and that will hand Koren another chance.
It's a great time for City to go to Wolves, who are struggling and will feel the pressure in front of their own expectant fans.
If City can silence the crowd early on and get a foothold in the game, Koren could come back in to the starting line-up and do the damage again.
