Town boss Mick McCarthy has made striker Paul Taylor and goalkeeper Scott Loach available for transfer, says Sylvan Ebanks-Blake won’t be staying beyond the end of his short-term contract and will make decisions on the futures of Stephen Hunt, Paul Green and Frazer Richardson later in the summer.
Taylor, a £1.5 million signing from Peterborough in the summer of 2012, is contracted for another year, while Loach, brought in from Watford for £150,000 earlier in that close season has another year remaining on his deal and Town will circulate their availability to other clubs.
"Paul Taylor will be going, he’s not going to play for me, so we might as well clear that up,” McCarthy confirmed. "Quite clearly, he’s not my type, he’s not going to play, he’s going to go somewhere else.
"I’ve spoken to them both, they know full well what the picture is. Loachy, to be fair, wants to play and there’s only one position.
"Tayls isn’t my type, I’m afraid, just not my style. I’ve not fallen out with him, I’ve just said to him, ‘I’ve not fallen out with you, you’ve not fallen out with me but you’re not going to play for me. You want to play, so let’s cut to the quick and do something about it. Let’s stop pissing about with it. Let’s crack on'.”
Former Wolves men Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Stephen Hunt joined on short-term deals midway through the season with the striker having rarely featured having struggled for fitness.
"Sylvan won’t be staying,” McCarthy said. "Hunty, I’ve spoken to Hunty and I won’t be doing anything with Hunty straight away.
"We’ve got about 18 of the lads who have been here all season coming back [in the summer] and I’ve got Tabby and Ando still in wide areas.
"Hunty’s been fabulous, he makes things happen, his personality’s great and I’m not writing him off completely, but I’m not just going to be doing anything with him on Monday morning.”
He says the situation is the same with loanees Paul Green and Frazer Richardson, who are out of contract with parent clubs Leeds and Middlesbrough respectively this summer.
"Exactly the same set of circumstances, but it cuts both ways,” he added. "If I was to make them all an off that wasn’t the right offer, then they’d say ‘Tell you what, we’ll hang about and see what else comes along’.
"We’re all doing it, we’re all dancing round our handbags seeing what’s going to happen and we’ll make a decision.
"But those guys, they have been outstanding. Hunty, his personality and the work he does, Frazer and Greeny, coming in on loan, Jonny Williams. Brilliant. They’ve been really good pros.”
He says there's no point the club paying wages to those players during the close season and also limiting his options: "What I don’t want to do is queer my pitch for loan deals with Premier League players.
"If you think of the quality of Jonny Williams coming in, if we could get a couple like that, not necessarily his position, wherever they might be playing, then I think that’s going to help us.”
The Town squad will be back for the start of pre-season training on June 26th and 27th to undergo tests and assessment before the preparations for 2014/15 start in earnest on the following Monday.
The Blues will again spend time at Carton House in County Kildare before playing their opening friendly against Shelbourne at Tolka Park in Dublin on Saturday 12th July.