Skipper David Norris is looking for more goals having netted his eighth of the season to grab Tuesday’s 2-1 victory at Derby County. Norris, who was one of the players whose contract is coming to an end who met with boss Paul Jewell last week, has now equalled the total managed by last season’s top scorer Jon Walters.
Norris told the club site: "Against Derby, Jimmy and Grant gave me the freedom to bomb forward and I could have had more than the one goal.
"I enjoy that part of the game and the goals have gone in for me this season. I've chipped in with twos and threes and the odd six in the past but this is the best tally of my career.
"It's something I needed to add to my game and hopefully I can knock in a few more and between now and the end of the season."
Boss Paul Jewell said before the Derby match that he was looking for more goals from his midfielders: "I don’t think our defensive record probably isn’t too bad. We don’t score a plethora of goals but I think we can do better all around the pitch.
"That’s not just the front players, at set plays we’ve got to be better, the midfield have to chip in with a few more and the wide players. It’s not just the forwards.”
Norris’s eight goal of the season won’t have done his chances of winning an improved contract any harm, the skipper and Gareth McAuley having turned down offers of new two-year deals before Christmas.
Jewell says that having spoken to the duo and some of the other 21 players who are out of contract in the summer at the end of last week, it’s up to them to show they are worth the enhanced terms they are after between now and May: "I’ve said to the players, and they’re all good professionals, make it difficult for us not to offer them better deals than they’ve been offered already. So the ball’s in their court.
"It’s a difficult situation to come in and manage and it’s one we shouldn’t have let happen with that many, but these things do happen, it has happened and we’ll have to make sure that we try and manage it to the best situation.”
The new boss says no one he spoke to wanted to move on: "No players have said to me that they want to leave. I’m quite happy with that. I’ve had chats with a couple of them and they’ve all said they want to stay and say to the club ‘Listen, give us a better contract than you’ve offered already’.
"I’ve walked into a bit of a nightmare situation here. I’m not trying to say it’s not my problem, because it is because I’m the manager, but this situation shouldn’t really arise.
"I’ve spoken to the players and I know it’s their careers and they’ve all got families, but the most important thing is them playing well for us, us staying in the division and sitting down at the end of the season. If they’ve had a brilliant end to the season, it’ll benefit us and also them.”
The Town boss says if the players had wanted to move on, they could have moved on: "If when I’d spoken to those players, they’d said they wanted to leave, as long as the deal was right for the club, they could leave.
"Look at Torres. At the end of the day, if the guy decides he wants to play football somewhere else, it’s best for all parties, as long as you get your transfer fee then it happens.
"But I assured those players that at this moment in time I’m very happy for them to stay. We could have sold two of them, we turned down offers for them [presumably Crystal Palace’s £800,000 bid for Norris and Damien Delaney], but there’s no way that I’m going to let players go without getting quality replacements in, and I’m quite happy with those players.”
Jewell says the out of contract players he met are happy with where things are at the present time: "They’re comfortable with the situation, that’s the main thing. One of the players told me that when he signed here the manager told him that once you come to Ipswich you don’t want to leave. It’s one of those clubs that once people come to they have an affinity with.
"Sometimes that’s hard because if you want them out the door you can’t move them! But none of the players have said they are unhappy.
"I don’t think finance will be a problem if we want to keep them. Great credit to the players, they haven’t caused a fuss, I called them, they didn’t knock at my door.
"I haven’t spoken to them all, I’m aware of the situation and told them that the best way we can do it is for you to play well and say to the club at the end of the season ‘I’m worth more than you’ve offered’. Everyone’s a winner that way.”