His absence from the Poland squad this season has come as no surprise to Town goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski, who was on World Cup duty with his country last summer, and he admits playing in League One would do little to help his international hopes.
Bialkowski was the Poles’ third-choice keeper and played no active part in the tournament in Russia but his inclusion capped off a memorable season after his club form earned him his international and then the call-up — and there was further good news when he returned to pen a lucrative new deal to remain at Portman Road until 2021.
Sadly, though, the goalkeeper’s form in the current campaign has dipped to the extent that he has so far started only 22 of the club’s 38 league games this season and, amazingly, has yet to feature in a winning line-up.
That has led, almost inevitably, to him being overlooked by Poland right now. "I am not disappointed,” he said, "because there has obviously been a change of manager after the World Cup [Jerzy BrzÄ™czek took over from Adam Nawalka] and as soon as that happened I didn’t hear anything from him, so I kind of knew I was not in his plans.
"It is also more difficult for me this season because the goalie I was competing with last year [Lukasz Skorupski] wasn’t playing — he was second choice in his club most of the time — but he is now playing regularly in the top division in Italy [for Bologna]. It is an easy decision for the new manager to bring him back.”
Should the worst happen and rock-bottom Ipswich drop into League One next season it will be a further blow to 31-year-old Bialkowski’s hopes of gaining further international experience.
He continued: "Obviously that won’t be good for my international hopes or my career as well.
"But we still have some games left to play and points to play for, so let’s not talk about relegation yet because mathematically we’re still safe. Football is a crazy game and everything can happen.”
Asked about a potential move away from Portman Road in the summer, Bialkowski added: "I still have a contract and I will respect that. Whatever happens in the summer, it happens, but at the moment I still have a contract and that’s it, but I haven’t heard anything from the owner.
"I think I need to sit down with the manager and see what his view is about the future. I’m sure we can do that after the season finishes. He will want to speak to all the players about his plans for next season — whatever league we are playing in — so we’ll see.”
Like team-mate Cole Skuse, who aired his views on the subject a fortnight ago, Bialkowski has no problem with the clause in his contract that will see him suffer a hefty pay cut if Town are relegated. "We all have pay cuts in our contracts if we go down to League One,” he said. "Especially for the senior players, who have family and kids, it’s a big blow for us but we deserve that if we go down.”
Bialkowski went on to explain the recent decision to adapt Town’s tactics — switching from playing out from the back to a more direct approach — was made by manager Paul Lambert and not at the request of any players.
He said: "We were playing out from the back in maybe eight to 10 games and after that we sort of scrapped it. I wasn’t relieved because we didn’t concede a lot of goals when we were doing it.
"We scored a very good goal against Bristol City at home by playing out from the back, so it was good, but after that we changed to play more off a big man, Collin [Quaner], and collect second balls and play off that
"By doing that we have put in some great performances. All of a sudden, with a long kick, we are in the final third so credit to the boss.
"It’s not easy to win the individual battles but in most of the games recently we’ve managed to do that and that has been the main thing behind our results.
"It all came from the gaffer. He said that was how we were going to play and it’s working because we are creating chances, which is something we’ve struggled with all season or at least most of the season.
"There were games when we just had two or three shots, maybe not even on target, but we are now creating chances and dominating the play in games. So it’s working.
"The game is changing all the time but as a goalkeeper you just need to make sure you can keep the ball out of the net.
"That’s your main job. If you have players all over the pitch who are comfortable with the ball then you can start playing from the back. It’s not only about the goalkeeper — you need to have players who are also comfortable with it.”
Meanwhile, regardless of his own future, Bialkowski is convinced that young goalkeeper Harry Wright, who last week joined National League South promotion-chasers Chelmsford City on loan, can eventually be Town’s first-choice keeper — a role occupied by his father, Richard, who made his debut in 1995 at the age of 17.
Bialkowski said: "It is a good move for him and he can gain everything from it. You can train as hard as you want but you can only improve by playing games.
"No matter where you are playing, it can only help you to go out and play some games. I made that mistake when I was younger so I’m glad Harry has decided to join Chelmsford on loan to get some game time.
"He has improved a lot this season and he has played well enough to get in the [Non-League Paper’s] Team of the Week the other day.
"That was the first thing he told us when he came back in here. I am pleased for him because he is a good lad and a good worker. He wants to work hard every day and I am glad he is enjoying playing some games.
"Why can’t be the club’s number one choice one day? He just needs to be trusted and given the chance in the first team, and when that happens I’m sure he is going to grab it.”