Town defender Tyrone Mings believes Crystal Palace’s interest in him during the recent transfer window has made him a better player.
The 21-year-old may have been denied a move to the Premier League when the Eagles’ £3 million bid was rejected but he still feels he has benefited.
Mings said: "It didn’t really faze me. I spoke to the manager over the weekend when it happened and he said ‘Look, I don’t know if they’ve put a bid in but whatever it is I’m not letting you go’. From there on there wasn’t really anything to think about.
"I knew I wasn’t going anywhere and I played in the U21s game on deadline day. That was it really but after that it did give me confidence going into the next few games, knowing that people were prepared to pay money and take a gamble on me, knowing I had never played in the Premier League before and it was still very early in my career.
"To be honest, I haven’t really thought about it since and I’ve been fine. There are pros and cons to going into the Premier League. Would I have gone straight into the team? I doubt it. Would I be developing as well as I am at Ipswich? Probably not.
"So, as nice as it would have been to go into the Premiership, I think from a personal point of view and with regard to my development Mick McCarthy and Terry Connor have definitely got my best interests at heart. They brought me in from Chippenham so I can’t really ask for better people to be under and to help me.
"I think what I’ll get here at Ipswich is better than I would get anywhere else. Yes, my goal is to play in the Premier League but the way things are going I could do it with Ipswich, maybe next season or the one after that. That way everyone wins.”
The one-time mortgage advisor made only his 15th league start for Town on Sunday as the Blues extended their unbeaten run to seven games via the 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest, who remain undefeated in the Championship all season.
Mings added: "The boys are doing well and I think the confidence is really high at the moment. Everyone seems to be pulling in the same direction and it is showing on the pitch. But there has been no significant change since we lost to Norwich.
"The manager has not said anything different in terms of how we are going to play. He has just sort of encouraged us to play more on the floor and as a result of that the full-backs are getting forward when the ball is under good control.
"Everything looks a lot more fluent at the moment and as a result of that we seem to be picking up points.”