Jay Tabb insists he will not be leaving Town to go on loan elsewhere and is also adamant that he is not frustrated by his lack of senior action this season.
Tabb, 31, said: "I told the gaffer the other day that I didn’t want to go anywhere on loan. I enjoy it here with my team-mates and I enjoy working with the gaffer and TC every day. I have no intention of going on loan.
"One of the things you have to do when you join a new club is sing a song — I’ve had a few of them and don’t fancy doing any more!”
The ex-Reading player was asked how frustrating it was that he has yet to feature in any of Town’s eight league games this term and responded: "Not at all. We’re doing well, I played in the two cup games, scored a goal and did okay. We’ve got a stronger squad this year, simple as that.
"Ryan Fraser has done exceptionally well, Ainsley [Maitland-Niles] has done well and Larsen [Touré] came in and played well the other night against Birmingham.
"We have also signed Tommy Oar, who looks really good in training. The fact of the matter is that we have a really strong squad with better players so it’s just one of those things.
"If the team’s winning, that’s the main thing, and when the team’s winning it’s a happy training ground.
"That’s the most important thing — you want to come into work every day and have a happy atmosphere, which is what we have at the moment because the team is playing well.
"If you’re not involved you’ve just got to make sure you’re fit and ready because you never know when there’s going to be an injury or a suspension.
"The gaffer knows that with this squad whoever he leaves out will be ready to come in if they have to. Frustrating? No, it’s life.”
Tabb, who clocked up 40 league appearances last term, is pragmatic about where he ranks in the current pecking order, admitting: "I think Ryan Fraser is better than me. We did 11 v 11 in training on Monday and it was two really good teams.
"It’s a stronger squad than last season and in years gone by, and with Ryan Fraser playing on the left I’m not going to be playing ahead of him.
"I just have to knuckle down and get on with it. I can accept it now that I’m more experienced.
"Probably, when you’re younger, you are desperate to play all the time and when you get to 31 — I’ve been playing for 14 years now and played a lot of games — you understand what’s important in football.
"It’s a team game and if you want it to be all about yourself you should go and play golf or tennis or something like that.
"Football’s a team game and if you’ve got better players in the team ahead of you all you can do is hold your hands up.
"As long as you train and work hard, that’s all you can do. If you start sulking or knocking on the manager’s door it doesn’t achieve anything, it just makes you stressed and it’s not good for team morale either.
"That’s what is so good about us here at Ipswich, we’ve got a great team spirit and we’re all together.
"If someone isn’t playing it doesn’t mean they don’t talk to anyone. We’re still joking and laughing with each other in the changing room and it doesn’t matter who actually plays because the bigger goal is always as long as the team wins.”