Former Town skipper Jon Walters has criticised boss Roy Keane for amongst other things his decision to axe veteran coaches Bryan Klug and Charlie Woods. Klug left the club in January, while Woods was let go in the summer of 2009 having been a consultant to previous manager Jim Magilton.
Speaking in an interview with the Irish Independent, Walters says that the coaching duo were part of what made Town the club that it is: "Bryan had been at the club for probably 20 to 25 years and there was Charlie Woods, who was Bobby Robson's number two. Good coaches and good people to have around who were all let go for one reason or another under Roy.
"That was disappointing. They were good people to work for and part of what the club is about. Ipswich is a bit unique, it's in the middle of nowhere and it means so much to everyone in the town. When they got let go... all the lads respected them quite well... and that was Roy's decision.”
Walters, who fell out with Keane in the summer for trying to engineer his Town exit before the club had agreed a fee for him, says he has compared notes with the ex-Sunderland players at Stoke since his £2.75 million move to the Britannia Stadium: "As soon as I got here, everyone asked what I had done.
"Liam Lawrence was here before he went to Portsmouth as well. They were laughing because they knew exactly what I'd been through.
"Even now I speak to the lads at Ipswich and when they get beat, well, we know what's been said before we even speak to anyone. We guess, ‘Aye, this is what's been said this week' and we ring all the lads and that's what happened. It's eggshells all the time.”
Meanwhile, a report has linked the Blues, Cardiff City and West Brom with Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana. The 22-year-old, who played against Town in the 2005 FA Youth Cup final, has previously been mentioned in connection with Stoke and Birmingham and a move to the Premier League appears more likely than a switch to a Championship club.