Town midfielder Anthony Wordsworth is determined to prove manager Mick McCarthy wrong and establish himself as a first-team regular.
It has been a frustrating time for the former Colchester player, with injury interrupting his career to the extent that he has only managed half a dozen first team starts since his £100,000 move in January last year.
But he is adamant that he never considered moving away from Portman Road and explained: "I’ve got another year, maybe two, on my contract because there is an option year in my favour if I decide to take it up.
"Maybe going on loan was an option. A few clubs [including Preston] came in for me but the manager decided it wasn’t the right time for me to go so I had to stick around and thankfully I’ve managed to get a few games.”
Asked to describe his relationship with McCarthy he added: "Off the pitch he’s been good to me. He’s a good manager — I think he’s a great manager — but it’s difficult when you’re not playing and then it’s hard to say good things about him.
"He’s a good man and he’s been loyal to the other players, like when Skusey got injured and he put him back in. I can’t really complain because if that had been me I would have been angry if I hadn’t been put back in.
"But he also said that if you come in and do well you keep your place, and that wasn’t the case against Nottingham Forest. I did well against Brighton and Derby and ended up sitting in the stand, which was hard.
"It almost makes you give up or lose faith in football. But what can you do? You can either moan about it or get on with it and I’ll certainly do my best to get back in the team.
"It was difficult because I knew what I could do. I thought that I should have been in the team but for whatever reason I wasn’t. It was hard and there’s a saying that when one door closes another one opens, but I’m still trying to boot down the door and prove the manager wrong.”