He may not have been a success in his 20 months in charge of Town but Daryl Murphy won’t hear a word of criticism against Roy Keane.
The striker is looking forward to being reunited with Keane, now assistant to new Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill, next week.
Murphy is in with a chance of winning his first caps in nearly six years in Wednesday’s friendly clash with Serbia in Dublin.
He said: "I’ve always got on well with Roy Keane when he was a manager and I felt I always did quite well for him at Sunderland and here at Ipswich. It will be good to see him next week.
"A lot of people have asked me how he will take to being the number two but I can see him in that role. I think he’ll be really good at it because he has great banter around the place and I can see him slotting into that job very easily.”
Murphy’s international recall has coincided with what he believes is his best run of form for Town, adding: "Consistency-wise it has been. In the past I’ve had a few good games but also played a few bad ones.
"The manager said to me at the start of the season that if I got in the team and played consistently well I would stay in the team and that has been the case. Hopefully that will continue until the end of the season.”
As well as helping Town to clinch a play-off spot Murphy has also set himself a personal target he hopes to achieve long before the end of the season.
He said: "I’ve got eight goals so far and I want to reach double figures as soon as possible. Hopefully over the next few games I can do that and get a few more.
"No striker is entirely happy with the number of goals they score. They are never happy with their tally. There have been games where I should have scored more and done better in front of goal but you just need to forget about those chances and make sure you take the next one that comes along.”