Town boss Paul Jewell is keen to extend Keith Andrews’s loan from Blackburn when his current half-season spell comes to an end in January, but says there’s no guarantee that the Premier League side will allow him to return. The Blues manager will also look at bringing Danny Collins back from Stoke when the transfer window opens, the central defender having to return to the Potters at the end of his 93-day switch after the Barnsley game in December.
Jewell is not entirely au fait with the minutiae of Andrews’s initial move and whether it involved any provision for an extension, but says it is something he will definitely look at: "I’m not quite sure [of those details], but in January we will try to extend it until the end of the season.
"But it’s no good me talking about what could happen in January now because the manager might change there as it might anywhere before then — it might change at this club! - and people have different perspectives. It’s an ongoing situation.”
The Republic of Ireland international has also been linked with Wigan and Swansea in recent weeks.
The Liverpudlian says no one in his squad seems in any undue hurry to get their future sorted: "None of the players are knocking my door down worrying about the loan situation or the contract situation at the moment.
"I had a long conversation with Grant Leadbitter on Thursday, which is very unusual, and he never mentioned anything about his contract, we just talked about football and how much he’s enjoying himself. I’m quite happy to just leave it at that at the moment.
"Let’s just see how things go and if we carry on doing well we’ll sit down. It’s a two-way thing. All I’m interested in is winning the game [at Cardiff] and that’s all the players are interested in. The more games we win, it strengthens the players’ hands, that’s the way I see it.”
Jewell isn’t overly impressed that Collins will have to return to Stoke after December 10th: "Danny’s enjoyed it, he’s been terrific for us really. The Barnsley game is his last game but we can get him again in January.
"The silliness of the rules drive you crazy and mean we’ll miss him for the Derby game, the Boxing Day game at Leicester and then the match at Reading. If we could get him back, if he wants to, if we want him to and Stoke allow it, we could extend it.”
The Town manager dismissed reports linking 18-year-old former Hamilton Academical midfielder David Hopkirk with a trial at Portman Road: "I don’t know who he is.”
Photo: Action Images / Andrew Couldridge