Former loanee Richard Chaplow says his time with the Blues at the end of last season gave him back his hunger for the game after his disappointing spell with Millwall. Chaplow, 30, is set to face Town this evening when they take on his new club Doncaster Rovers in the Capital One Cup second round at the Keepmoat Stadium.

Chaplow made three starts and three sub appearances for the Blues with his only goal the last-gasp winner at Watford. He was released by Millwall in the summer and has made one start and one sub appearance for League One Rovers this season.

“The cup tie will be tough,” the midfielder told the Yorkshire Post. “I have been down there very recently and so know what it is all about. I know what a competitive bunch they are. They know their roles and jobs on the pitch. Mick will have them at it.

“I enjoyed it down there, a fantastic time. I joined an environment that was thriving. I can’t speak highly enough about Mick and the lads and the coaching staff. They were exceptional.

“I felt very privileged to be part of that. I always wanted to play in a Mick McCarthy team. It gave me a taster of what football is supposed to be like.

“Coming off the back of a successful time at Southampton and then not so much at Millwall, it gave me the hunger back.

“For whatever reason, it didn’t get going at Millwall and I found it a struggle to get going, especially with the atmosphere round the place. At Ipswich, it was very easy because they want to win games.

“I feel to have joined a club in Doncaster that is very similar to Ipswich. There is a hunger here.

“I have always been hungry on a personal level, but in an environment that doesn’t seem to thrive on the same ambitions it can be hard.”

Reflecting on this evening’s match, he added: “Anything in the cup is tasty. We will be looking to take the game to them and get our fans cheering.

“Everyone was disappointed after Saturday [when they lost 3-0 at Port Vale]. We were a bit off it in terms of pressing and closing down. We didn’t create enough chances in the final third.

“But we take the lessons of losing and try to be better for it. It is the only thing we can do.”

Photo: Action Images

theipswichman added 10:01 - Aug 25 It is so refreshing seeing all these former players talk about how much they enjoyed their time here. Hunt and Chaplow are two from the past few days. Anyway good luck Richard and thanks for one of the most memorable moments last season at watford.
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PJH added 10:21 - Aug 25 I agree theipswichman. As neither Noel Hunt or Richard Chaplow were kept on by ITFC,there might have been some bitterness but the fact that they both speak well of our club is further proof of the wonderful setup there is at PR.
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bluethroughnthrough added 10:54 - Aug 25 Will always remember Chaplows goal v Watford. Slightly surprised McCarthy chose Giles Coke over him.
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muhrensleftfoot added 11:00 - Aug 25 Yes, it's great to hear such good things from former players. It really does show what a great job MM & TC have done. But like bluethroughnthrough, I would have chosen Chaplow ahead of Coke, but MM is usually right in the end.
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gazzmac4 added 11:08 - Aug 25 Chaplow maybe wanted more first team football and MM maybe couldn't guarantee that with the signings we made in that position? Agree with what you say though, not seen much of Coke but Chaplow always had something about him. Clear to see that MM only ever looks at bringing top pros in like Hunt and Chappers because they are clearly at the right end of the humble scale!

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1psw1ch added 12:04 - Aug 25 We are so lucky to have Mick and tc in charge at ipswich nobody has a bad word to say about them and it is so good to hear it from former loan players it sure does make it so much better been an Ipswich fan to read these comments
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BlueandTruesince82 added 12:55 - Aug 25 Yh Mick has Faves, Mick doesn't give people a chance, Micks set in his ways, yet not one player seems to have anything bad to say about him regardless of how they left. Speaks volumes
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nhabo added 13:25 - Aug 25 "Hungry", "hunger", "tasty". Ah, that reminds me, time for lunch. Thanks, Chappers.
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Currie10 added 14:34 - Aug 25 I thought Chaplow played well for us and first half away at Carrow Road in the league he was the best midfielder by quite some margin for us. Not that that's saying much, but he got taken off half time!
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