Rotherham boss Steve Evans says former Blues loanees Paul Green and Frazer Richardson might have joined Town rather than the Millers in the summer but for the locations of the two clubs. The duo are expected to start for the South Yorkshiremen at Portman Road tomorrow.
Green, 31, made six Town starts and eight sub appearances, scoring two goals, between February and May last season while on loan from Leeds, who released the Irish international at the end of the season.
Richardson, also 31, made three starts and four appearances from the bench during a loan spell from Middlesbrough between January and May and was also a free agent during the close season.
"If geography had allowed it, Paul Green and Frazer Richardson might still have been at Ipswich,” Evans told the South Yorkshire Times. "I know Mick was keen to keep both.
"We didn’t hide the fact that we cannot match Ipswich on finance - we’re not on their level there. But we got the mix right between wages and geography.
"Frazer is a Rotherham boy and Paul’s from Pontefract so we win on that. But both will get fantastic receptions, and Loachy as well if they’re involved.
"They played a really meaningful part in giving Ipswich a great end to last season when it looked at one point as if they could be sucked into a relegation fight. I’m sure their supporters will recognise that.”
In addition to Green and Richardson the Rotherham squad also includes ex-Blues keeper Scott Loach and on-loan pair Paul Taylor and Anthony Wordsworth, with the latter two ineligible for tomorrow’s match.
Evans says he got to know Town manager Mick McCarthy much better while discussing those moves: "I didn’t know Mick a lot. I used to be frightened to talk to him.
"He was just someone I looked up to. It was like looking up to the top people in the Premier League. He had that aura about him.
"When you do get talking to him he’s one of the most honest, brightest, intelligent but simple, basic managers you could wish to come into contact with.
"His Yorkshire is a bit like Steve Evans’s Glaswegian. Yes is yes. No is no. My relationship with him has been built on that. It’s built on professionalism and a respect for a man who I look forward to seeing on Saturday.”
Meanwhile, ex-Blue Loach is likely to start for the Millers, having made his league debut for the newly-promoted side in last week's 1-1 home draw with Charlton.
The one-time Town season ticket holder and academy schoolboy is looking forward to returning to Portman Road.
"The Ipswich fans were very good with me and it will be nice to see everyone again, but come three o'clock it will all be forgotten. I'm at Rotherham now and that's where my loyalty lies,” Loach told the Rotherham Advertiser.
"Playing against your old club is a strange one. You are pumped up but when you go out for the warm-up you have to treat it like a normal game and block other things out of your mind.”