Town travelled to Doncaster this afternoon for their final game of the season without former skipper Grant Leadbitter, who has decided not to remain at Portman Road after his contract is up at the end of the season. The Blues were already short of midfielders for their lunchtime clash with relegated Rovers (KO 12.30pm) with Luke Hyam injured, Lee Bowyer released and Lee Martin and Ryan Stevenson both having missed training due to injuries this week. Youngsters Byron Lawrence and Joe Whight have both made the trip.
Manager Paul Jewell was set to meet with Leadbitter on Friday to discover the 26-year-old’s decision with the former Sunderland man confirming his exit. Middlesbrough are believed to be the front-runners for his signature, while Brighton have also been linked.
The 26-year-old's exit leaves Jewell with limited options alongside Andy Drury with Luke Hyam out with a torn thigh muscle and with Lee Bowyer having been released.
The veteran former Leeds man is understood not to have travelled to the Keepmoat having been told he will not be offered a new contract with his terms also up this summer.
Ryan Stevenson, who was back in training yesterday after suffering an Achilles’ injury in the Millwall match last week, and Jimmy Bullard are in contention to partner Drury. Josh Carson, who has played in the centre of midfield in the reserves and the U18s, might be an alternative outsider for the role.
Jewell will be forced into at least one other change elsewhere with left-back Aaron Cresswell missing due to the hamstring injury he suffered last week.
The Town boss was coy about who might replace the Player of the Season but ruled out youngster Joe Whight, who he feels is not yet ready for first team football, although has travelled with the squad, and veteran Mark Kennedy, who will retire this summer to take up a coaching role at Portman Road.
Damien Delaney could switch to left-back as he did after Cresswell went off against Millwall with Ibrahima Sonko — who has been told he will be released but is the only other centre-half at the club - joining Tommy Smith in the middle of the defence.
Alternatively, Jack Ainsley could come into the side, perhaps in his preferred right-back role position with skipper Carlos Edwards switching to the left.
Daryl Murphy will play the last game of his loan spell from Celtic — although Jewell is keen to sign him permanently over the summer - on the left of midfield with Jay Emmanuel-Thomas on the right.
Lee Martin missed the 3-0 defeat to the Lions with a groin injury and had only progressed as far as training with the physio on Thursday, so seems an unlikely starter.
That will probably mean the Blues begin with Michael Chopra and Jason Scotland up front in an orthodox 4-4-2.
Jewell has confirmed that schoolboy midfielder Byron Lawrence will be in the squad and at 16 years and 47 days will become the club’s second-youngest player if he makes his debut, younger than Jason Dozzell when he made his — and scored — as a sub against Coventry in February 1984 at 16 years and 57 days.
Connor Wickham became Town’s youngest-ever player when he came on as a sub in the 3-1 home defeat to Saturday’s opponents Doncaster in April 2009 aged 16 years and 11 days.
The Blues boss will probably decide against naming a substitute goalkeeper, as he has in the last two matches, with Richard Wright and Cody Cropper both having been told they will be released in the summer. However, Wright will probably travel as cover.
Jewell says he hopes what has been another disappointing campaign will come to a winning end: "It’s been a long and difficult season in lots of ways and we’re at the final hurdle now. I believe we’re taking 1200 supporters there, so it would be nice if we could put on a decent performance and get a result for them as much as anything.
"We would like to have done that last week at home because the home fans have been great for us, but that didn’t happen.
"We need to put a show on for ourselves as well, we’re professionals and we’ve had a difficult season in lots of ways. We really want to put this behind us and build for next season now.”
The Town boss felt last week’s home defeat cast a shadow over what had been a more promising last third of 2011/12: "I think the disappointing thing is that we lost last week and that was only our fourth defeat in 18 games, so it’s been a good end to the season.
"But overall we’re disappointed that we haven’t done better and we’re looking forward to next season, certainly I’m looking forward to it.
"I’ve had a full season at it now, I’ve made some mistakes, which I’ve got to learn from, and will look to bring in players that are going to improve us for the future.”
Jewell admits he’s surprised that Rovers have been relegated given their squad: "You look at Doncaster’s team, there are a lot of good players in the team and you wonder how they’re bottom of the league.
"They came here and were 3-0 up after 25 minutes which shows the competitive edge this league’s got. It’ll be a difficult match.”
Doncaster’s four-year stay in the Championship will come to an end after Saturday’s game and manager Dean Saunders, who played for Jewell at Bradford, says he wants to go out with a positive result: "It's not a 'dead rubber' game for me, I'm proud to be manager of the club and at Doncaster.
"I'm proud to be playing against Ipswich and I'm not taking it lightly. If we don't win I won't sleep on Saturday night so that tells you what it means to me."
Rovers strikers Chris Brown and Fabien Robert are both doubts, while one-time Town target Habib Beye is back after a three-match ban.
Centre-half Shelton Martis (calf), midfielder Martin Woods (knee), striker Habib Bamogo (hamstring), full-back Tommy Spurr (hand), midfielder Brian Stock (groin) and striker El-Hadji Diouf will miss out.
Controversial striker Diouf is believed to be on his way to Leeds this summer, although Town and Hull have also been linked by a report in Yorkshire.
Back in November, second half goals from Josh Carson and Michael Chopra weren’t enough to stop the Blues from falling to a 3-2 defeat to Doncaster at Portman Road.
Dismal Town were very much second best before the break with Diouf (2) and Billy Sharp putting the South Yorkshiremen 3-0 in front at half-time.
In February last year in the Blues’ most recent visit to the Keepmoat Stadium, Connor Wickham hit his first senior hat-trick as Town continued their resurgence under then-new boss Paul Jewell with a 6-0 destruction of Doncaster, the club’s first ever win on Rovers turf.
Sam Hird’s 25th minute own goal set the Blues on their way with Wickham subsequently netting his three, the last a penalty, and Colin Healy and Gareth McAuley one each.
Historically, things are neatly balanced, Town having won four games between the sides, four having been drawn and Doncaster also having been victorious four times, one of those the only cup tie involving the clubs, Rovers’ 2-0 Carling Cup second round win at Belle Vue in September 2004.
Rovers midfielder James Coppinger was a summer Town target, along with the now-at-Southampton Sharp, while Jay Emmanuel-Thomas scored five goals in 12 starts and two sub appearances while on loan at Doncaster between February and May 2010.
Saturday’s referee is Scott Mathieson from Cheshire, who has shown 99 yellow and three red cards in 39 games this season. Mathieson’s most recent Town match was the 0-0 draw at Middlesbrough in September when he booked Ibrahima Sonko and one Boro player.
Squad from: Lee-Barrett, Wright, Edwards, Ainsley, Whight, Delaney, Smith, Sonko, Drury, Stevenson, Carson, Bullard, Emmanuel-Thomas, Murphy, Carson, Lawrence, Chopra, Scotland, Ellington.