Town boss Mick McCarthy has challenged Teddy Bishop to get back to the form which made him his first choice central midfielder two seasons ago.
The 20-year-old, who broke into the first team in 2014/15 and quickly established himself as a regular, has endured a frustrating time with injuries since then, most recently an ankle problem which he suffered in mid-December.
However, the academy product is fit again but was left out of the 18 at Brighton on Tuesday having travelled with the squad.
"He’s got to get in the 18 and get in the team, show me that’s where he wants to be,” McCarthy told BBC Radio Suffolk following the game at the Amex.
"Two years ago it was Teddy Bishop and somebody else. Well, he’s got to get back to that and I’m hoping that’ll be the case. I know he’s had a lot of time out with injuries but he’s got to get back in.”
Bishop missed all but four games of last season - two starts and two games from the bench in April and May - and has made only six starts and 12 sub appearances this term.
Does McCarthy feel the Cambridge-born youngster has lost his focus? "I don’t know. It does happen, you have an injury and you get down the pecking order.
"Well, the only way to get back up the pecking order is to break your nuts in training and to make sure you’re in my eyeline and TC’s eyeline so we’re going ‘Wow!’.
"Because that’s what happens. If you think it’s just based on matches, that’s impossible, it’s how people are in training on a daily basis. That’s what I judged it on, he’s got to get back in.”
McCarthy, who doesn’t view Bishop as a potential replacement for Tom Lawrence during the Blues’ top scorer’s two-game absence through suspension having reached 10 bookings, added: "I want him back in, I want him with that hunger, that desire to be back in my team and to be the best player in it because he has the ability to be that.”