New signing Jimmy Bullard says it was an easy decision to rejoin the Blues once he knew Town wanted him on a permanent basis in the wake of the termination of his Hull contract. Free agent Bullard, who was on loan at Portman Road last season, has signed a two-year deal.
Bullard says he is delighted to return to Town, for whom he scored five goals in 16 appearances during the second half of the last campaign: "I enjoyed myself so much here last year and as soon as I knew Ipswich were interested, it was a fairly easy decision for me.
"I enjoyed my football here, I know the staff, I know Paul really well and Marcus Evans has put his faith in me.
"I got on so well with the fans here, I just enjoyed my time. All that made it an easy decision for me. It’s very nice to be amongst friends and playing football."
The 32-year-old was pleased to be reunited with team-mates from Town and elsewhere: "There are a few new faces from last season, but a lot of old friends as well like David Stockdale [who he played with at Fulham] and Ibrahima Sonko [team-mate at Hull].
"Even Andy Liddell is the fitness coach. I used to play with him at Wigan, so it’s a bit strange having him on the coaching staff! But it’s been good.”
Bullard admits that he was interested in a possible return to the Premier League but says that no such move was ultimately on the table: "I’ve always said I’d like to play at the highest level but it didn’t quite happen.
"There were talks held with QPR a couple of times but didn’t really materialise for either side really, so I had to look elsewhere.”
The midfielder says he’s been told not to talk about his Tigers exit, which was due to an alleged disciplinary transgression on the club’s pre-season trip to Slovenia: "There’s not too much I can say on that. My lawyers are dealing with it at the minute, so I’ve been told to say that. It’s in my lawyers’ hands.
"I enjoyed my time at Hull, I’ve always said that. I wish all the boys the best, that’s all I’ve got to say on the matter.”
The ongoing situation with his former club — he says he doesn’t know the timescale for its resolution — meant he had to abandon his usual policy of representing himself in transfer dealings and appoint an agent, Simon Dent: "I felt like I had to get an agent, and get some lawyers and solicitors involved in the whole situation. I needed to have an agent really.”
The one-time England call-up is on a significantly lower wage than his £45,000-a-week contract at Hull but says football is more important to him than money: "I’ve taken a pay cut but I’m just happy I’ll be playing football now, which I always wanted to do. Here I am at Ipswich and over the moon!"
A former Peterborough player, Bullard is confident that the Blues can turn things around after last week's 7-1 reverse to his old club: "Like the gaffer says, it’s really early in the season. Obviously you don’t want to lose like that, but it happens in football and I’m sure we’ll kick on now.”