Former Town defender Thomas Gaardsøe says he has no grudge towards Blues' boss Joe Royle who sold him in the summer. The Blues travel to the Dane's new club West Brom on Saturday.

Gaardsøe, who moved home from Suffolk last week, says that Town's cash situation dictated that Royle allowed him to leave: "I have no bad feelings towards Joe Royle. He was under pressure to sell me and I know in a different situation he would have loved to have kept me but due to the financial problems he had to try and push me out.

"I have nothing but respect for Joe, he gave me my chance when he first went to Ipswich and I will always be grateful to him for that."

Gaardsøe didn't want to leave Town, however he has so far done well in Albion's back three, helping his new club to top of Division One.

The former Danish U21 international says that the visit of Town will give him a chance to say goodbye to his old supporters: "It will be emotional, and I'm especially looking forward to thanking the Ipswich fans for being supportive all the time I was at Portman Road.

"There will be a lot of talking before and after the match but I'm focusing 100% on the game."

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