Town boss Paul Cook says midfielder Teddy Bishop, who the Blues face tomorrow when they take on his new club Lincoln City at Sincil Bank, needed a fresh start away from Portman Road.
Bishop joined the Imps for a fee understood to be £220,000 having been with the Blues since the U8s, going on to make 81 starts and 51 sub appearances for the senior side, scoring five times. Since signing for Lincoln he has made five starts and three sub appearances, scoring once.
Asked if Bishop needed to make a new start, Cook said: "One hundred per cent, Teddy’s a lovely lad, a really good guy. Having been at Ipswich for a period of time, a fresh start was what we all felt would do Teddy the world of good.
"I’m sure Teddy’s enjoying his football, I’m sure he enjoyed the [5-1] win at Cambridge last week being a Cambridge lad and we wish him well in the future. But tomorrow’s about Ipswich Town.”
He added: "Good luck, good luck to Teddy. As I said before, good luck to every single footballer who’s left this football club, but the biggest thing for Ipswich Town are the players that are here and are our future.
Bishop, 25, concurs with his old boss and says his summer departure didn’t come as any shock to him.
"I started last season really well. I was enjoying my football, playing well,” he told Lincolnshire Live. "Then I got an injury, came back into the side, and the team was struggling.
"Then the new manager came in, and a few weeks after that, it was quite apparent to me that I needed a new start as I didn’t fit into those sort of plans. I knew a couple of months before the end of the season, really.”
Bishop says he’s enjoying playing for Lincoln under Michael Appleton: "I’ve absolutely loved it. He gives me the freedom to go and play how I want to play with no restrictions. He knows I can run with the ball, but there’s a structure too. It’s not like ‘Go and do whatever you want’. But he wants me to play off the cuff, be inventive and creative. It’s perfect for me.”
Bishop has declared himself fit for Saturday’s match having suffered with an ankle knock and illness over the last week.
"I’m feeling much better,” he said. "It actually knocked me for six. I tried to train through it when I probably would have been better to have a day’s rest.
"I’m much better now and am looking forward to the weekend. I trained yesterday, a really tough session, and I’ll train again this morning. I’m ready to go.”