Town new boy Jon Nolan insists he has no regrets at demanding a transfer at former club Shrewsbury to help his move to Portman Road to come about this week.
Midfielder Nolan and his Shrews team-mate, central defender Toto Nsiala, both 26, were unveiled yesterday after a near-£2 million double deal that the Shropshire club, who lost manager Paul Hurst to Town in May, were initially reluctant to entertain.
Both Nsiala and Nolan, who launched his career as a youngster at Everton before drifting into non-league football with Stockport County, asked for transfers, which led to them being banished from training and excluded from the Shrewsbury squad for Saturday’s opening game of the new season, which resulted in a 1-0 home defeat by Bradford.
Referring to his last few days as a Shrewsbury player, red-haired Nolan said: "It was a bit weird. I knew of the interest from Ipswich and I felt as if it wasn’t going to go through.
"I felt I had to take matters into my own hands, if you like, and obviously the club said we couldn’t train.
"We both went home and I did my own work at the gym. After that I was just waiting for the call and when I got it I was happy.”
Did it make the situation any easier that Nsiala was in exactly the same boat? "Not really,” added Nolan. "It wasn’t as if we both spoke and it was ‘I’m going to do it, are you going to do it?’ I can’t really speak for Toto. I just wanted to push it through so that I would have the opportunity so I just did it.”
The pair were together at the Goodison academy and their career paths have taken a similar route.
Last season at Shrewsbury, for example, they shared the driving on the 145-mile daily return journey from Liverpool, where Nolan was born and DR Congo international Nsiala relocated to in 2002 after living in Paris from the age of three.
Nolan said: "Toto and I shared the driving down from Liverpool to training last season. He was living in Shrewsbury at the start but he moved back home to Liverpool halfway through the season.
"It wasn’t quite every day because we used to stay in a hotel on a Friday — a little treat for us.
"We spent a lot of time together and it’s been confirmed that we will be room-mates for our first Ipswich game at Rotherham on Saturday.
"But I wouldn’t go as far as saying we are inseparable — I like my own space every now and again and so does Toto.
While Nolan sees the move to Town as an opportunity to establish himself in the Championship, he is equally confident that Nsiala can do the same and perhaps even move to an even higher level in the future.
He added: "How good is Toto? He’s a beast. It’s rare to come across a centre-half with so much pace and when you add his power I’ve never seen anything like it. The fans are in for a treat there.
"I should imagine he can play at an even higher level. I’ve got confidence in him, he’s got confidence in himself and obviously the gaffer has as well. I think he can do it.
"Coming here along with Toto helps as far as the settling-in process is concerned because we know each other so well. But to be fair to all the lads here, they have all been top-notch and the process has been smooth.”
Nolan will be living temporarily in a local hotel but is keen to find a permanent base in the area as soon as possible, adding: "A few days in a hotel is okay but we want our own place.
"My girlfriend will be joining me but she has to work a month’s notice at her job before she can move down.”