Blues boss Paul Jewell has revealed that Damien Delaney’s agent was at Portman Road earlier in the week for talks with chief executive Simon Clegg regarding the Irish international defender’s new contract. There appears to have been no significant progress with any of the senior players who have been offered new deals, although the Town manager is hopeful more will be known next week.

Jewell said: “Damien Delaney’s agent met with the chief executive on Wednesday and a decision is imminent. We have to start putting time limits on it now and by this time next week, I promise you, we will know."

The Blues manager says he has spoken to other players regarding their contract offers and is waiting to hear back from senior squad men Gareth McAuley, Brian Murphy and Colin Healy in addition to Delaney, while not all of the first and second-year pros have yet held talks regarding their futures.

Jewell has still not been able to get hold of David Norris’s agent but believes that his skipper very much wants to remain a Blue: “If you can find David Norris’s agent let me know! I spoke to Chuck this week and he’s keen to stay. I know he’s got good offers from elsewhere, that’s what his agent has told me and we’re trying to get somewhere close to that.”

Keeper Arran Lee-Barrett has yet to be offered a deal and Jewell has plans to speak to the one-time Town schoolboy: “I haven’t spoken to him yet. He’s been in the first team in the last two games but hasn’t had a lot to do, to be fair to him.

“I’ll be speaking to him and a few of the rest of them in the next couple of weeks. We’ll have to make decisions on those players and then make some of them offers and then it’s up to them to accept or not.”

Photo: Action Images

JoshTheLad added 10:21 - Apr 9 Cumon Delaney, put pen to paper, one of the best CB combinations in the league we have !!
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PimsOclock added 10:34 - Apr 9 Josh Carr are you Yoda?
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depressed added 10:39 - Apr 9 I do wonder whether the players get their agents to pay their utility bills, tax and insure their cars for them, do the weekly shopping, maybe help them get dressed even! The way i see it is that there's a contract waiting to be signed....sign it or leave. Chuck...if your happy to stay, as you say you are sign the contract, you don't need to hold your agents hand when doing so! I know this has dragged on for far to long and i'm not making any excuses for the way our C.E has handled it, but we all want an end to this saga.

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TownOnTheUp added 10:39 - Apr 9 Sign a new contract you shall :p
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arc added 11:42 - Apr 9 Jewell talks about these situations in a much more sensible way than Keane. Keane always gave the impression that he left this stuff up to Clegg and would then moan about how it was all being done wrong. It is clear that Jewell is involved at every stage--as a proper manager should be--whether it's talking to agents or giving good and bad news to youngsters. It's good to see.

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RetroBlue added 12:09 - Apr 9 well DD and Norris, if you dont like the contract on the table (Delaney you've been bellyaching about if for F@@' MONTHS MAN!!)....just sod off ! Just remember, you are being offered VERY good financial renumeration for just kicking a ball about. Try getting a proper job if the money doesnt suit !
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Mark added 13:08 - Apr 9 This has been dragging on so long, for the sake of the fans please decide now and sign or leave! The deadline idea seems sensible as it can't drag for weeks and weeks into the summer. Please can we ensure this does not happen again next year? We need to offer contracts or sell the players whose contracts expire in summer 2012, including the likes of Fulop and Leadbitter.
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sheepdags added 15:02 - Apr 9 Clegg allowed these contracts to run down and now the player's agents have got the club over a barrel. Biggest mistake ME ever made was sacking Derek Bowden who knew something about football and the club and appointing someone who knew even less than ME himself. It's been 2 wasted years of bad management and missed opportunities.
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East_of_England added 16:16 - Apr 9 Sign or get rid. St Ledger is better.
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East_of_England added 16:30 - Apr 9 ...or rather play Tommy Smith.
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jas0999 added 19:24 - Apr 9 Hopefully he will sign.
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TimmyH added 19:28 - Apr 9 unfortuantely all players nowdays are money grabbers - I wonder what his new contract offers him? he took some time 'bedding' in at Portman Road but along with McAuley they have got a reasonable partnership going.
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parkinshair added 19:39 - Apr 9 I think Jewell is right to be pushing for answers. Damien has had more than enough time to look at, and ponder over the new contract.
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Lennyboy added 21:10 - Apr 9 Agents, who needs them. They bring absolutley nothing to the game and I feel the FA should impose further restictions on their use.
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Worcester added 21:27 - Apr 9 Bet he has already got another club in mind. Be a shame if scunny pull off the great escape and they go down wouldn't it?
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EastAnglian added 03:42 - Apr 10 I happened to be in Dublin last week . My hotel coincidentally was the base hotel for the Irish team. I overheard a man, clearly DDs Agent on his phone saying that DD had been offered a contract and all he had to do was sign it. The Agent appeared keen for this to happen. So perhaps it will. Most players take their Agents advice.
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DiamondGezzer added 07:41 - Apr 10 EastAnglian :- Hope you're right. In fact Ihope they all sign. Its one thing saying there's better out there, but another [a] getting them and will they settle in as well as what we have. We do have the nuclious of a good team [ agreed, not always perfect - but that's because they are human ], and with summer additions we could be on our way, instead of what we've had in the last few years, half a season to gell. IMHO

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