Boss Mick McCarthy says new signing Darren Ambrose’s ability was no shock to him but that he was surprised that the 30-year-old was in a position where he needed to join the Blues on trial. Yesterday, the former academy player signed a short-term deal until January.
"His technical ability is no surprise to me or any Ipswich fan that knows him or has seen him, they probably know him far better than I do,” McCarthy said.
"I did ask him the question ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ He looked at me and I said ‘What are you doing here, because you’ve got such ability, you’re only 30. Why are you here trialing with us?’
"A bit of a hard-hitting question, you have to think about that one. He’s shown a desire to be here.
"What’s gone wrong for a guy of his ability? Maybe bad decisions, injuries, but he’s fit, he’s got great ability and he’s looked as good as anybody else out there, so I’m thinking ‘Why wouldn’t I?’. And he’s got Ipswich at heart as well, he’s delighted to be back.”
Having added Ambrose and with Teddy Bishop and Kevin Bru breaking into the first team, McCarthy’s midfield options have received a significant boost in recent weeks.
"I thought Kevin was excellent as that number 10 at Derby, he played really well,” the Blues boss enthused. "He’s got really good quality and Teddy was the star man for me, by a street.
"It’s lovely, isn’t it? It’s nice when you’ve got that squad of 20 and any one of them could play. It’s a big decision for me.”
Meanwhile, McCarthy confirmed that he has no current plans to offer a deal to former West Ham man Jack Collison, who like Ambrose trained with the Blues in recent weeks.
He says the Welshman is now looking at other alternatives: "He has been about. I think he’s got other options and he’s going to go and have a look elsewhere.
"I said I was cool with that, whatever he wants to do. If it works out for him, great. If it doesn’t, I’ll still have a look at him.”
Photo: ITFC