Defender Tommy Smith says he knows nothing of Blackburn’s reported interest in him in the wake of his performances for New Zealand at the World Cup. Smith has been linked with Rovers, having apparently been recommended to manager Sam Allardyce by All Whites skipper Ryan Nelsen.
Smith said: "I don’t know anything about that. My ambition is to get into the Ipswich team on a regular basis next season.”
The 20-year-old, who is off on holiday to Spain having been given three weeks off by Town, feels New Zealand team-mates such as central defender Winston Reid, who currently plays in Denmark with FC Midtjylland and has been linked with Arsenal, Fulham and a number of Italian sides, and striker Shane Smeltz have what it takes to make it in the Championship.
Meanwhile, an employee of Town owner Marcus Evans’s THG company has been charged with ticket touting at the World Cup in South Africa.