CITY will check on Billy Clarke’s fitness today as they plot an immediate response to their second league loss.

The Irishman sat out the 3-0 defeat at Southend with a tight calf and his presence was missed.

Replacement Jordy Hiwula struggled and Stuart McCall will give the top scorer every chance of being involved in tomorrow’s emotional home clash with Northampton.

In-form Clarke was due to play at Roots Hall but pulled out on the morning of the game after feeling discomfort in his calf.

McCall said: “Billy got a bleed in it after a heavy tackle against Accrington.

“He played without a problem last week but felt it tighten again in training.

“We took him for a scan and there was no tear. It was coagulation of the blood which tightens the muscle.

“He wanted to start on Saturday and was willing to play but he was honest enough to admit it was still tight.

“But we’ll see how he is after a couple of days of rest and he might feel better again.”

City have dropped to fourth and will aim to bounce straight back at Valley Parade on a night dedicated to Bobby Campbell.

Goalkeeper Colin Doyle appreciates how much three points will mean on such a poignant occasion.

Doyle, who regained his starting spot on Saturday after international duty, said: “We know there’s a lot at stake.

“I went to get a drink from my bottle in the first half during a break in play and someone shouted we needed to get going and ‘do it for Bobby’.

“You can see from the reaction and all the messages on Twitter when he meant to the supporters and the club.

“Hopefully we’ll get a big turn-out and more importantly the right result. We want to put things right and we’ve got the chance to do that at home.”

City were undone at Southend by two goals from their former midfielder Will Atkinson, his first double for seven years.

Romain Vincelot’s own goal rounded off a miserable result after the visitors missed a string of chances.

Doyle added: “People will see we lost 3-0 and wonder what’s gone on there but anyone at the game would have seen there wasn’t much between the teams.

“I’d be more worried if we didn’t create anything and got battered.

“I don’t know how we didn’t score, we hit the bar and had shots cleared off the line.

“The first half wasn’t good enough but we still had opportunities and we had a load more again in the second.

“You’re going to get those games occasionally and it would be horrible if we had to wait a week before playing again. Luckily we’ve got tomorrow and I’m sure the lads will be right up for it.”

McCall does not expect any lingering disappointment from the heaviest loss of his second spell in charge.

“We’ll analyse things but we weren’t rotten or poor,” said the City chief.

“The lads are all disappointed naturally but we’re not going to get down.

“Nobody likes losing but we’re not going to feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got the opportunity tomorrow to get three points again.”