Millwall midfielder Liam Trotter says it wasn’t a difficult decision to leave the Blues in the summer of 2010, despite having come through the ranks at his hometown club. The 23-year-old, who scored one and created one in the Lions’ 3-0 victory at Portman Road on Saturday, turned down a one-year deal at Town to sign a two-year contract at Millwall, where he had previously been on loan.
Trotter said: "It was not really a hard decision at the time, because even though it was a contract offer, it was not one that said to me the club really wanted me to stay.
"Kenny Jackett showed he really wanted me and promised me games, so even though I wanted to stay, it wasn't the right thing and in the end it was an easy decision.”
The 2005 FA Youth Cup winner returned to a role he had only previously occupied with Town on Saturday: "I was back playing on the left wing, as I did for Ipswich.
"Roy Keane gave me a good chance with 12 games on the bounce but it was at a time when the team was not playing well and that made it difficult for me as a young midfielder. I’m happy now and Ipswich are doing fine without me.”
He feels he is a better player than the one that left Portman Road: "Development comes with experience and I have played a lot of games for Millwall.
"The manager has given me confidence to develop and blossom and I’m beginning to play as I feel I can.”
Unsurprisingly, he was delighted with how Saturday’s game panned out: "It was good, I’m not going to lie.
"You always want to go back to your old club and do well and it is my hometown club and I wanted to make it here. I felt I had unfinished business because it did not work out that way.
"It was always unfinished business for me and I wanted to put in a good performance. I didn’t play well last time I played here as I was up sick the night before, but for me and the team it was good to get a goal.
"Ipswich fans gave me a good reception, as they do all their ex-players. They appreciated that when I was here I worked my nuts off and did everything I could to get in the team, but it didn’t work out.”
Trotter’s Millwall team-mate Andy Keogh confirmed that he had had trials with the Blues' Academy when he was moving over from Ireland at 16: "I came here as a kid but I had offers from a lot of other clubs like Blackburn and Leeds.
"I was very close to signing for Ipswich but chose Leeds. There were a few Dubliners who signed here, and there were a few Irish boys at Leeds. It was very close thing.”
Town skipper Carlos Edwards was disappointed with his side's display having played so well against Birmingham a few days beforehand: "After the way we played against Birmingham, which was the best we played all season, it was disappointing to then we put in a performance like that.
"We created good chances bit could not capitalise and it was not up to par, which has cost us.”
The Trinidadian dismissed suggestions that there was an end-of-season feel about the performance: "As players we don’t think like that. We wanted to send the fans home sweet.
"Even though we had nothing to play for, three points is massive thing to take from every team and the players and fans would have had something to smile about. We thought we could just carry on where we finished on Tuesday but it was not to be.”
Edwards was disappointed that fellow full-back Aaron Cresswell's season has ended due to his hamstring injury.
Speaking before the announcement that Cresswell had won the Player of the Year vote, the 33-year-old felt the summer signing from Tranmere was in with a very good shout: "Cressy has been up there neck and neck with me in terms of games played.
"He has a chance to be Player of the Season, so it was sad to see him get injured in that way.”