Town may have denied him a dream move to the Premier League when they rejected Leicester’s £7 million bid in August but David McGoldrick believes he still felt the benefit.
The striker explained: "It was a massive boost to my confidence when they came in for me with such a big offer.
"I’m a Midlands boy so I know all about Leicester and their history. It was also a major boost when the gaffer and the owner turned it down because they thought I was worth even more.
"I’m confident in my ability and hopefully I can score goals to help Ipswich go up and I’ll be in the Premiership anyway. Am I good enough to play there? I don’t think you should ever doubt yourself but I’m not thinking about it right now.
"I’m here, in the Championship, but if I get to the Premiership I’m sure I will be able to do myself justice.”
McGoldrick dismissed the notion that Leicester’s interest proved a major distraction as he turned back the clock and talked for the first time about how Leicester’s interest actually affected him.
He added: "I wouldn’t say my head was turned. I haven’t been banging down doors demanding to move but I’m just the same as any man in any job. If you get an offer that is going to better your career you are always going to think about it.
"Leicester would have been good for me — I could have lived in the house I have up there and played in the Premiership alongside one of my best mates, Wes Morgan.
"I thought about it and how it could have been a good move for me but it didn’t go through and I haven’t once spat my dummy out. I just knuckled down and got on with it.
"I remember getting a call to say there was a bit of interest and I just to myself ‘Whatever’. Later on that day I was told there had been a bid and it all seemed to start from there. I got an injury in training on the Thursday, a dead leg, and people were thinking I was lying about it.
"But it was real — big Bajner went into me with his big legs and took me out. That’s how it works, I didn’t play on the Saturday, we were off on the Sunday and I knew I would be coming back in on the Monday to get back to work and carry on as an Ipswich player.”