CHRIS Hughton has described the loss of Curtis Davies for the Boxing Day visit of West Ham United as ‘‘no hardship’’.

That’s not a slight on the centre-half, who is suspended and has been one of Blues best performers this season.

Moreover it’s a compliment to his replacement Pablo Ibanez.

The Spanish stopper has slotted in fairly seamlessly when called upon previously.

Apart from an error when Kenny Miller charged down his attempted clearing header at Cardiff City to rifle the winner, Pablo has been ‘‘Mr Efficiency’’.

In that game he came on ‘‘cold’’ as a substitute for Davies in the wake of his sending-off, and minutes later the lapse in concentration was punished.

And arguably Davies only found a way back into the team in October after injury because Pablo was withdrawn from duty after being knocked out at Club Brugge, just when he had established himself during a four-game winning run.

“Unassuming, yes, that’s the type of player Pablo is,” said Hughton.

“With Curtis, he can have those real explosive moments in a game that perhaps get him noticed. But Pablo, he tends to go around his game in a different manner.

“He’s a quiet individual anyway, and that’s the way he tends to be. He’s very efficient in what he does, but no frills.