Town boss Paul Jewell says midfielder Jimmy Bullard will be “straining at the leash” after his two-week club suspension for his night out in Newcastle with Michael Chopra and his subsequent late arrival at training. The 33-year-old will be reunited with the rest of the squad at Playford Road today.
Jewell said: "He rang me on Tuesday night. He’s really upset about what happened. He accepts full responsibility for his actions and I said to him to come in on Friday. I’ve dealt with it, I’m not going to keep on harping on about it.
"We’ve all made mistakes, he’s been punished, Michael Chopra’s been punished in a different way, but in a way I thought would hurt him more than Jimmy.
"I know that Jimmy has been straining at the leash and anyone who knows Jimmy, and I know him as well as most, knows that he loves playing football, loves company and that the worst thing you can do is put him in a room on his own.
"He’s the only player in the group who doesn’t want to room on his own on away trips. Nobody else wants to.”
Since his exile, Jewell says Bullard has kept in regular contact with his team-mates - "He’s been on the phone to everybody I think” — which doesn’t surprise him: "He loves company, Jimmy, and he loves banter and that’s why I’m amazed he’s a fisherman. I don’t know quite where he gets that from.
"He will have been hurt and hopefully he’s learnt from his mistake that it’s not acceptable. He was completely understanding of my actions and he has no argument and he comes in on Friday.
"I think he’s realised he’s let himself and his team-mates down but I don’t want him to wear sackcloth and ashes because it’s been dealt with.
"It’s no good holding grudges, we’ve had our fall-outs, he’s made a mistake and he’s been dealt with. He’s not the first player and he definitely won’t be the last player, but hopefully it’s the last time Jimmy does that.
"That’s all we’re asking. Give him a chance, he’s got a chance and if he doesn’t take it, he doesn’t take it, but he’s a good footballer and he’s still got plenty to offer.”
Although Bullard won’t be involved against Peterborough on Saturday, Jewell doesn’t expect his fortnight's absence to have adversely affected him too much: "He’ll be fit anyway. He’ll have been training, he’ll have been doing something. He won’t have been on a beach somewhere, I can tell you that.”