Former Town keeper Shane Supple says discovering that some players didn’t care whether the team won or lost was one of the reasons he decided to give up football at the age of 22. Supple made the shock decision to leave the Blues and football last month.

In an interview in the Daily Mail, Supple says his disenchantment with the game had been there for some while: “The decision was brewing over a number of years. The first time I thought this might not be the thing for me was the Christmas of 2005. That was my first Christmas away.

“My dad came over for the Boxing Day game and I remember saying to him then, ‘I don’t think this is the thing for me. I don’t like what I’m seeing’.

“When you’re a young lad your one aim is to get into the first team. You’re in digs, you’re training, you’re resting, all you’re looking at is the first team. Being away from home can be difficult on top of that, but at first it wasn’t a problem for me.”

Supple says he was surprised at the attitude shown by some players once he reached the senior side: “Then I got into the first team and I saw that some of the lads didn’t really care whether we won or lost. I didn’t really like that, that was disillusioning. “Things weren’t going great at the club at the time, which I suppose didn’t help, but it made me question whether this was what I wanted to do.

“I was 18. That was when it started to creep in. I was in the team as well, so it was a strange one. The season finished and the manager, Joe Royle, left. The same feelings were in the back of my head and I nearly did it then.

“I thought, ‘I’ll go home, this isn’t for me’. But I stayed, probably for the wrong reasons, for other people. But I didn’t want to let people down.”

Supple, who has started playing Gaelic football since his return to Dublin, is now back in education and is reportedly set to follow his father into the police force.

Photo: Action Images

Suffolk_n_Good added 08:03 - Sep 15 Just goes to prove what we have always suspected as fans, certain players don't care about the club they are playing for, because they know if a team gets relegated or doesn't get promotion, they will move on to another club anyway. As long as they take their hughly inflated salary each week there happy. Town 2-1 Forest! just got that good feeling about tonight!! COYBs.

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bedsitfc added 08:06 - Sep 15 i wonder who the players were that didnt care?
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mickeyjb added 08:07 - Sep 15 No one can knock him for following his dream, even if he is leaving behind what most of us would call a dream. I wonder who those players are? And the synic in me says he needs a couple of bob to tide him through Uni so he needs a story to tell. Still good luck to him
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La_Paz added 08:13 - Sep 15 I guess the Daily Mail wouldn't have given him an interview unless there was some kind of non-specific juicy angle. Still, does make you wonder. Shows some strength of character though to give up football for the Police force. No-one could blame him for wanting a more stable life I suppose, and he must be minted anyway. Good luck to him.
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MaySixth added 08:55 - Sep 15 The truth is finally out that Jim Magilton lost that dressing room.
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Marshalls_Mullet added 09:10 - Sep 15 MaySixth. Not sure if that was sarcasm, but Supple was speaking of Royle's time in charge.
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Gilesy added 09:11 - Sep 15 I'm not sure I believe this story. How can it come from the Daily Mail without blaming Immigrants for the lack of team spirit at least somewhere.
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Golaboots added 09:28 - Sep 15 Say what you like about Keane, but I can't imagine him putting up with players who are apathetic results.
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elburro3 added 09:33 - Sep 15 I'm so happy to see this, I have suspected this all along - when you see the players out and about in Ipswich, still to this day I get that feeling. The likes of Matt Holland, in them days - he cared, and look where that got us. I love the club, and will continue to support it through thick and thin, but sometimes I feel I dont "like" the players, not neccessarily for their action on the pitch but what I hear of them off it. I don't know how you solve a rot like that, if you would have asked me last April I probably would have said "get a gaffer like Roy Keane in"...

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BlueBoots added 09:44 - Sep 15 Fascinating interview! 'I remember Joe Royle saying that some of them think they're stars and they're not even players.' I'd love to know which players he was referring to!!!
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stiffshorts added 09:50 - Sep 15 I think Shane is being honest. As fans we knew (and know) that there were (and are) players out there who are being carried. To anyone who thinks Keane hasn't solved this yet I say the following; Bobby Robson joined this club in 68/69 and it took him 3 1/2 seasons to turn us round. We then became one of the top clubs in the country (apart for one season we finished in the top six for a decade!). I wish Shane well. He was a very good keeper and desrved better. I wish Keano well and will continue to support him for at least the next two seasons while the rebuilding continues. Come on Town!

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kiwiblue added 10:14 - Sep 15 well said shane and thanks for your honesty. about time from someone with a sense of responsibilty. players who want excessive wages should be performance related and the whole soccer family needs to act as one to bring it in. please and soon. supporters are fed up with the wages they earn and what they give back. yet we are fickle idiots and when they do well for a few weeks we fall in love with them all over again. roys the man to shake it up give it time and farewell anybody not wanting to put in the effort.

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Surco72 added 10:48 - Sep 15 Will people stop comparing the great Bobby Robsons time at the club with the situation now it was 40 years ago and football has changed dramatically we will never be a top six in the country side again because we are not a big enough club and will never compete financially, so what we want to see is good football and entertainment which is what we are known for and a friendly supported club none of which is on display as yet ,so lets continue to pay our money and actually support the club loudly at Portman Road and start enjoying going to football again and hopefully we will enjoy some success

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streety86 added 10:52 - Sep 15 I wonder what made him make the decision to leave now, are there more players with the same attitude as 2005?
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Ryorry added 11:00 - Sep 15 Must say reading that was quite a shock - you suspect it, know it in theory, but when someone on the inside points out the truth (yes I do believe it) - sheesh, it's sort of unbelievable yet all too believable, and the jaw-drop comes from hearing that not only don't some players care, it's our hard-earned fork outs from our miniscule incomes (I get less than £10K p/a) which goes to line the pockets of these miserable, mercenary, amoral, so called 'men' - not real men imo. Never thought I'd say that about Town players, but hey, they weren't real Town players, just mercenaries. The passion Jim had, it musta driven him nuts (assuming some of those in question survived into Jim's squad). At least with Roy you know that kind of thing won't be tolerated.

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onlybluesandhorses added 11:20 - Sep 15 Well he will always be the MOTM in the FA Youth Cup winning side, more than many have achieved. Yes, football has become all about money, why else can we buy so many new players? This only reflects society where celebrity and money (rather than honesty and knowledge) are now worshipped.
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brendanh added 11:45 - Sep 15 This is another argument for Ipswich to build the team around our succesful youth setup rather than buy in journeymen mercenaries with no affiliation to the club. It's the only way we've ever succeeded. Too many good hungry young players in recent years haven't been given a fair chance and look where it's got us.
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Hunterssecondball added 11:53 - Sep 15 Premiership. Hope it improves when we get there. It's only fit for divers , cheats big mouths, stupid goal celebraions, even worse crowd reaction, over paid, Chelsea tractor driving , mono-sylabled, moronic excuses for human beings. And that's only the ball boys!! The following article should warm the hearts of true sports followers. It's only a game of footy, but this is what the Beeb should be headlining, not the above dross. Good luck to Shane, I was looking forward to following his progress in footy but can't now. If he can't get enthused by playing for ITFC, (family club?) then what way is footy going or has gone. Real foooty is here where others matter other than just yourself and your image. Hope Shane cuts it as a copper. At least he'll be doin' the booking instead of being booked! http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulfletcher/2009/09/carl_baker_and_stockport_an_ex.h

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FenboyBlue added 12:09 - Sep 15 I don't think I've been more shocked in reading an interview with an (ex) Town player, ever. I've no reason to doubt Shane's explanation and it certainly makes sense. It shows how Joe did wonders with no money and presumably the most 'mercenaries' on board. Then Jim was on a hiding to nothing managing having just retired from the team. Presumably Shane gave it one last chance with Roy but I guess some of 'those' players are still here. And actually my belief in Roy is reinstated by this interview because of his winning experience and his gripes at people even in the Man Utd team not pulling their weight. Some players might have kept him guessing so far but they won't survive until January. Also that's a serious kick in the academy from Shane but maybe necessary. Phew need a lie down now.

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SomershamBlue added 12:33 - Sep 15 I can't say that it surprises me that some players don't care. You only have to watch some of them on the pitch to see that they are coasting through games. Maybe it's that they are too rich to need to care or maybe they are just plain lazy. Of course this does not only apply to 'Town! We can all forgive mistakes, as we all make them. But if a player can't be bothered, then he's robbing us and his team mates who do put the effort in. Anyway, it's the managers job to pick up on this and get rid of them - and I'm pretty sure that RK will do that for us.

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jas0999 added 12:58 - Sep 15 Not surprised. Reading between the lines it sounds as though Supple is referring to Joes days - but like it or not it is obvious the same mentality existed under Jim - three seasons and not one play-off place. And people wonder why Roy hasn't turned it around after just SIX matches. He will though.
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IpswichKev added 13:08 - Sep 15 Roy will definitely out these players if they still remain at the club?
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bluewein added 13:15 - Sep 15 Makes u wonder if the players that were shown the door by Roy in the summer are the last few who have no heart in the club....
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BrightBlue added 14:50 - Sep 15 Keane's first pre-season at Ipswich featured two days at an Army barracks doing assault courses and sleeping rough. The climax was the killing of a pig for dinner (by soldiers) and Supple proudly recalls that he was on the winning team. ‘They said the pig would not feel it, but the pig shrieked,' he said. That did not prevent him eating it, though, while others declined. So Keane was not a reason, but others' reluctance on that two-day test clearly reinforced some beliefs within Supple. No wonder Roy has had such a clear out! He is definately building a team of winners and I for one am prepared to wait for it. Tonight will be the start of our season. Come on you blues!

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Nthsuffolkblue added 16:24 - Sep 15 Well done, Shane. It is a shame that this has led to such disillusionment that he has packed in the game, because RK surely won't let that attitude persist. As others are saying, this is why he must be given time to sort out the squad and if one or two go that we don't agree with, perhaps Roy knows best. Who knows who might have this attitude?
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