New loan signing Stephen Henderson says he’s joined the Blues to play games rather than spending his time sitting on the bench at West Ham. The 24-year-old, whose three-month loan deal includes a 24-hour recall clause, has made only two Capital One Cup appearances since joining the Hammers in March.
Henderson, who is contracted at Upton Park until 2015, told the club site: "Anyone who knows me will tell you I’m not the type of player who wants to sit on the bench and pick up his wages.
"So when I got told I could go out on loan and I knew Ipswich were keen, it was an easy decision for me. I spoke to the manager on Saturday and was here for training on Monday morning.
"It’s a fantastic club, Ipswich, and I’m really looking forward to showing people what I can do. I know the results have not gone as well as the club would have hoped but seeing the players work on the training ground and the squad that is here, I’m sure things will turn around very quickly.
"With the squad here, on paper, I could see Ipswich competing in the top six and hopefully I can play my part in helping the club move up the table.
"I need to play games. That’s why I’m here and if the opportunity is there to stay beyond January and everyone is happy with that, I’d definitely want to do it.”
Henderson was one of the three Portsmouth players targeted by the Blues in January, but contrary to widespread reports at the time says no fee was agreed between the clubs: "I heard rumours about me coming here but it never got anywhere near that.
"I was told by Portsmouth in January that two clubs had come in for me - Newcastle and West Ham. Portsmouth were in a bit of a mess at the time and we were never sure what was going on but I was never told that Ipswich was a possibility for me.
"If I’d known that, then I would have had a massive decision to make but it didn’t get anywhere near that.”
Photo: ITFC