Former Blues skipper Luke Chambers, who joined Colchester United on a two-year deal yesterday, says his Town exit came as a shock having been “told I wouldn’t be leaving and then I would be leaving” within a 10-day period.
The 35-year-old was released by the Blues at the end of the season after nine years and says the move to the U’s was one of a number he received with Gillingham also understood to have shown interest.
"Once it came up, it’s something that I wanted to talk to the guys about as soon as possible,” he told the Colchester Gazette.
"I’ve had quite a few offers from elsewhere but I think with the timing of it, with where I am with my career, with what I feel I can bring to the club and where the club want to go, it matched that really, really well and we got the deal done.
"We spoke a few days after the season. I think they let the dust settle on my release for a week maybe and we started speaking — they got my number from the boys here.
"We didn’t know what was going to happen at Ipswich, so once the news broke, I was straight on the phone really.
"It’s been really good to get to know everyone and for them to sell me the vision of the club and what they want to do moving forward and I think I fit into that pretty well.
"This has come at the perfect time for the club and for myself and I still feel I’ve got a hell of a lot to offer on the pitch.
"It’s not me coming here to see out my days as a player. I feel I’ve got three, four, five years left in me potentially so hopefully I can help us do that and enjoy the ride.
"It’s the perfect fit for me to come and give my experience to the club and hopefully add value to the club, going forward."
Chambers suggests there was a U-turn from the Town management on whether he would be remaining with the Blues.
"After being told I wouldn’t be leaving and then I would be leaving, it was a little bit of a shock in a ten-day period," he said.
"But that’s by the by; I’ve had a fantastic career there, I’ve played hundreds of games for the club, I’ve left my mark and I feel that everything that I did there was in the best interests of the football club.
"I gave the majority of my football career to that place and it will always have fond memories for me.
"Who knows what’s in the future but it’s really exciting for me to step away from that and look for the opportunities that have arisen here."
Chambers is settled in Suffolk, so a move to nearby Colchester suited from that angle.
"Especially with the last 18 months and what’s gone on in the world, it opens your eyes a little bit more," he reflected.
"My family are really, really important to me and it wouldn’t sit right for me if I was across the country playing for someone else and not seeing them on a day to day.
"That had a big part to play because at the end of the day, I’ve got four young children, my wife has been fantastic and moving was something I didn’t really want to look at."