x

Malarczyk: I Didn't Move to England to Give Up After Six Months - Ipswich Town News

Blues central defender Piotr Malarczyk says he has no regrets about joining Town last summer and didn’t move to England to give up after only six months.

Former Polish U21 international Malarczyk was signed from his hometown club Korona Kielce, where he was skipper, in August, when the Blues triggered a release clause of 50,000 zloty (around £8,500) in his contract.

But since then the 24-year-old, who was close to winning a senior international call-up in September, has made only three starts - all in the cups - and three Championship sub appearances.

His last game was the FA Cup replay defeat at Portsmouth in which he was sent off having picked up two yellow cards having conceded a penalty (pictured above).

Having recently spent three weeks out of action due to a kidney stone, Malarczyk has been out of the first-team squad and was the only senior player in the U21s side which lost 1-0 at Cardiff yesterday.

Despite his lack of opportunities up to now the centre-half says he has no regrets.

"I would make exactly the same decision now or in year's time,” he told SportoweFakty.pl.

"I just wanted to give it a try at a foreign club and had always made it clear that I was working hard so I can eventually move abroad.

However, he admits he’s disappointed with his lack of opportunities: "I obviously can't say I am happy with this situation, simply because I am not playing enough.

"But if you look, for example, at Dusan Kuciak [arguably the best goalkeeper in the Polish Ekstraklasa in recent seasons] who moved from Legia to Hull City and he's not even on the bench.

Why does he feel he’s not been given his chance? "It's hard to tell. Bartek Bialkowski, for example, lost his place not because of a lack of form but because of personal matters.

"And even though he looked great in training he had to wait until the then-first choice keeper picked up an injury.

"I'm in an even worse situation as central defenders don't get replaced until they make some serious mistakes.”

But he says he’s prepared to work hard and wait for his chance and has no plans to return to Poland.

"I didn't move to England to give up after six months,” he insisted. "The Championship is a very difficult league, the style of football is completely different to the one in Poland.

"I would like to stay in England. I am not going to moan about the lack of playing time.

"It's a shame that the last few months have not looked good but I have two options: complain that the manager’s not giving me enough chances or train very hard and show him that I am always ready to play. I am choosing the latter.”

Thanks to Jerry for the translation.

What to read next:

Hutchinson's England U21s Reach Euros Semi-Finals
Blues forward Omari Hutchinson started as England’s U21s beat Spain 3-1 in Trnava, Slovakia to reach the semi-finals of the European Championship.
Hutchinson and England U21s Face Spain
Blues forward Omari Hutchinson and his England U21s teammates face Spain in the European Championship quarter-finals in Slovakia (KO 8pm, Channel 4).
Cajuste Offered to Udinese Report
Napoli are reported to have offered former Blues loanee Jens Cajuste to Udinese as they look to sign Italian international striker Lorenzo Lucca in a cash-plus-player deal.
TWTD Questionnaire Results Now Online
TWTD’s seventies-style supercomputer, the Osborne 1.0, has been fired up once again and the results of the TWTD Questionnaire 2024/25 are now available.
FA Youth Cup Hero Upson Retires
Ed Upson, the scorer of the goal which won Town the FA Youth Cup in 2005, has announced he is hanging up his boots, aged 35.
Prediction League Winners
The TWTD Prediction League was as keenly contested as ever during 2024/25 but with BigAlsMate’s emerging as the winner by five points.
Hutchinson: We Want to Be Dominant Against Spain
Omari Hutchinson says he and his England U21s teammates have to look to dominate Spain in Saturday’s European Championship quarter-final in Trnava, Slovakia.
Trabzonspor Concerns Over Tuanzebe Injury Record
Trabzonspor are concerned by Blues defender Axel Tuanzebe’s injury record, according to a Turkish report.
Delap Nominated For PFA Young Player of the Year
Former Town striker Liam Delap has been named in the PFA’s Young Player of the Year Top Six.
Hutchinson Assists as England U21s Progress Despite Defeat
Blues forward Omari Hutchinson won his seventh cap as England’s U21s made it through to the knockout stages of the European Championship, despite being beaten 2-1 by Germany in their final group game in Slovakia.