Town midfielder Cole Skuse has admitted the speculation linking boss Mick McCarthy with a return to his former job as manager of the Republic of Ireland has been a major talking point among the playing staff.
Skuse said: "All the lads have been speaking about it in the dressing room but we’re none the wiser than anyone else. The manager’s the person to ask about that. What you know we know but of course it’s a concern.
"I’ve not met a manager like him in football. He’s the best I’ve worked under and that’s not being disrespectful to any of my other managers. They’ve all got their own style but Mick’s the best.
"He was a huge selling point for me coming to the club. He’s a big reason why I decided to join Ipswich and as other players have said in the past I would be gutted if he goes.
"We’re not all stuffing money on it but there’s no hiding away from the fact that it’s in the press. You can’t get away from reading the paper and seeing that big names from Ireland are saying they want Mick to be the next manager. We’re aware of that but just trying to do our job.”
Skuse is adamant the speculation — McCarthy has been the favourite or second favourite to resume the post he quit in 2002 since Giovanni Trapattoni's departure — is not a distraction to the players on match days.
He added: "You wouldn’t be a true, honest professional if you let things like that affect your game out on the pitch. It can’t happen.
"You would be struggling every week if you let off-the-field things affect your game and you wouldn’t be an honest, dedicated pro.”