Luke Varney has revealed how he is stepping into the shoes of injured Town star David McGoldrick in more ways than one.
Varney has returned to Portman Road contract through to January after McGoldrick suffered an ankle ligament injury that is likely to keep him out for about 10 weeks.
Knowing he was going to be without the Republic of Ireland international, manager Mick McCarthy turned to free agent Varney to plug the gap in his squad but told him the club would not be picking up his hotel bill.
Varney, who has signed a deal until January, said: "When I spoke to the gaffer he said, ‘We might struggle to sort out accommodation this time’ so I texted Didzy straight away and said ‘How’s the injury?’ He started explaining but before he’d finished his text back to me I sent him another one asking ‘Are you staying in your flat?’
"He knew what I meant and said I could stay in it if I wanted. That was nice and I said I’d have done the same for him. He’s reminded me that he’s got me two deals at Ipswich through his injuries so I owe him a drink — but it’ll have to be a Lucozade!
"I live in the East Midlands, which isn’t that far away, but I want to be based in Ipswich while I’m here. I’m looking to concentrate and give it a real good go until January then go from there. To be honest I’m treating it like a trial.
"If I can play as many minutes as possible and help the team out, which I’ve always tried to do because it’s in my make-up, who knows? The gaffer must have had a lot of targets but I’m really pleased that he chose to ring me and I’m here to help out in any way I can.
"I just want to stay as long as possible because I love the club and being involved with the gaffer and the lads.”
Varney was keeping himself in shape throughout the summer but the longer he went without finding a club, the more he was concerned about his future. He added: "I really missed the football side of it. My agent was telling me to stay positive and wait until the transfer window had shut because as a free agent I could sign for a club at any point.
"But as soon as the season started and I saw Ipswich had beaten Barnsley 4-2 I just wanted to be involved again so I told him I wanted to get fixed up sooner rather than later. I needed to play and I was delighted when the chance came along to return here.
"I always look after myself so it wasn’t a problem keeping fit. I did a lot of running, maybe a bit too much if I’m honest, but after working with the lads for a week I feel really good and it won’t be long before I’m up and running.
"I even did some 10k races in the summer, which I really enjoyed. My brother-in-law runs at quite a high standard and I followed him round. It was all very competitive and I loved it.
"The lads have said to me ‘Did you miss not doing the pre-season training?’ and I said ‘No, if every pre-season could be three months at home I’d be delighted!’”
Varney, who came off the bench for his third Town debut near the end of Tuesday’s goalless draw at Wolves, added: "I did 60 minutes [of football] yesterday and I must admit it was 100 miles an hour, but I needed that and the gaffer said it was a great run-out.
"I thought I might have been a little bit stiff today [Friday] but I felt good in training and I’m really pleased that I managed to get so much work done on my own in the summer or I might have been paying for it.
"I had plenty to keep me going in the summer and the lawnmower had a good seeing-to. It was interesting because I had just moved house at the end of last season so I got a lot of jobs done but my wife was keen to get me back to work and when Mick made me an offer I couldn’t get down here quickly enough.”