Key defender Gareth McAuley has revealed that he has rejected the new contract offered by the Blues and says his future should have been sorted last summer. The Northern Irishman, who is amongst 21 players out of contract at the end of the season, also confirmed that the Blues turned down offers for him in the close season.

McAuley said: “It’s a funny one. And it should have been sorted out last summer. Ipswich turned down a couple of offers for me and if they were keen to keep me they should have offered me a new deal then instead of letting it drag on for months.”

SPL giants Rangers were believed to have made offers for the former Leicester and Lincoln man during the summer and may well renew their interest with the 31-year-old able to talk to other clubs now he has fewer than six months remaining on his current contract. Premier League Bolton were also linked.

The former skipper confirmed TWTD’s earlier reports that he, along with current captain David Norris, had been offered a two-year deal by the Blues but says it doesn't match his expectations: “I was eventually offered a two-year contract four weeks ago, but it was not right for me and I told the club with the ball now back in their court.

“There have been further discussions, but we don’t seem any further forward. I’m happy here, but I have got to look after number one at this stage of my career.

“There is no way I look at the grass being greener on the other side of the fence and I’m not after silly money. The contract offer is not right at the moment.”

Prior to his sacking, former manager Roy Keane had targeted signing veteran Irish international centre-half Andy O’Brien - who has subsequently moved from Bolton to Leeds - which may have indicated that he expected McAuley to leave Portman Road at some point in the months to come.

Photo: Action Images

Blandford added 17:23 - Jan 11 Just wondering - if his contract was sorted out last summer and RK's target of Premiership football had been achieved would Gareth be happy with signing a contract at Championship salaries, or was he only after a one year deal - didn't think so? The club has tried hard over last twelve months to reduce the wage bill, I am afraid players are either going to have to accept they are part of a team or 'look after number one' as Gareth put it.

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Mungo added 17:27 - Jan 11 Quite right GM. This should have been sorted in the summer one way or another. He should have been offered the new contract then, not only to allow more time for negotiation but also to allow the club to sell if a contract could not be agreed. It is naive of SC to expect GM not to want a pay rise (everybody wants more money right?). No one likes to be messed about with their pay, so just get on with it and sort it out. GM has established himself as a key player and, provided that his demands are reasonable, they should be met or a compromise found. Failing that, a key player (and one of ME's expensive investments) will leave for nothing in the summer.

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blue_em_away added 17:29 - Jan 11 Greed... If you want 3 years you need to take a cut in wages. Your slow now, how slow at 34???
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Dennyx4 added 17:29 - Jan 11 Mcauley is right, you should never let a player get into the last year of their contract if you want to keep them. who is to say that he would have signed a contract if it had of been on the table earlier? I am guessing the length of the contract was the issue to begin with, however his agent is probably now talking bigger wages as a prospective new club does not have to pay a fee etc This is not a good start for Jewell - it depends on how much money Evans wants to make available for PJ and can we attract any bosmans from elsewhere

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Garv added 17:30 - Jan 11 Money money money
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floridaboy added 17:33 - Jan 11 With the uproar that followed the rise in ticket prices etc at the start of the season, surely it makes sense for the club to try and stabilise the outgoings. If that means players wages remaining at their current level - like everyone else in the real world who pay their over inflated wages are having to contend with - then so be it. The players need to get real. The working man is struggling to get by and at the end of the day watching football is fast becoming too pricey for the average supporter to pay and watch Wonder if that could be one of the reasons gates have been at the level they have been this season?

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fourth added 17:36 - Jan 11 Mcauley is either part of the past or of the future. It's up to him to decide. Reticence is the last thing needed now. Name me anyone who is not, eventually, replaceable.
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andy89 added 17:39 - Jan 11 I do not see how this is Gareth's fault. He is someone who has been a crucial member of our back 4 this season and at the end of last. Losing him, and the £2 million we spent on him is an outrageous thing to be doing. Simon Clegg this is surely your job, you need to stop enjoying the attention of the media and get on with what you are supposed to be doing, you are ruining this clubs future.

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Jesney_Havoc added 17:49 - Jan 11 Well I for one don't find it funny. Footballers can be real to55ers at times. Not only do they expect outrageous money, but they want the timing of their contacts at their behest, otherwise they just leave on a free bee. Well I say one last haggle or you can blow it out of you nort.
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hulltractor added 17:53 - Jan 11 Doesn't want to be here clearly. Get rid and replace. Plenty more where he came from. Plenty of "Senior" defenders out there. Get one of them to partner our up and coming youngsters and we will soon forget about Mcauley.
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bubblesblue79 added 17:56 - Jan 11 EXCELLENT (TAPPING FINGERS) TIME FOR THE BIG JANUARY CLEAR OUT!!! WELL OVERDUE......
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whoppit added 17:58 - Jan 11 Players under contract should not be allowed to hawk themselves around like they do looking for a better deal. Jewell needs to ball gag his players !!!!!
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Brazilian added 17:58 - Jan 11 He is one bit of quality
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Mark added 18:00 - Jan 11 Very disappointing to read this. Really, the club should soon be sitting down with the likes of Fulop, Leadbitter and other key players whose contracts are up in the summer of 2012!! We should plan ahead. To have left it to the final days with the likes of £2M Norris and £1.1M McAuley just puts the players in too strong a negotiating position. We should never let key players go into the last year of their contract, if they will not sign then they should be sold! It's too late now though, if we sell McAuley we'll be lucky to get £100K now he can leave for free in the summer. Roy Keane always made clear that transfer deals and contracts were nothing to do with him. I really hope that Paul Jewell is allowed more of a hands on approach so he can use his football knowledge to prevent these sort of situations occuring. The manager SHOULD have a say about transfer values and wages in my opinion and he should be very aware of the budget he is working to each year, alongside long term planning.

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jas0999 added 18:07 - Jan 11 Oh dear - a terrible start for Paul Jewell - who is of course not to blame for this. What it does suggest is we are in a complete mess. Roy also not to blame for McAuley - just a few weeks back Roy stated his frustration that the 'Club' hadn't sorted these things out 'months ago'. I completely agree with Gareth this should have been sorted last Summer. For me further evidence if it was really needed that CLEGG must be the next out of ITFC with a CEO with FOOTBALL knowledge appointed. It should also be noted that McAuley may be disappointed that Roy has gone. Who knows. I doubt he wants a massive contract - just something a little better thans on offer. Jewell could lose Gareth in this window - and with a small squad, it's difficult to see how we will move forward.

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jas0999 added 18:11 - Jan 11 p.s. I don't think we should be held to ransom by players - point is if we had negotiated contracts with key players LAST summer, then if they rejected the contract we could have sold them then and cashed in. Last Summer McAuley may have fetched £1M+ this coming Summer £0. Poor senior management.
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brian_a_mul added 18:13 - Jan 11 At least the club got Wickham to sign professional terms for two years during the summer. To be honest that was the major contract to get signed as it is worth a few mill to the club. I agree that McA is a very important player for us but thats because of his experience. Which we lack in the defense. Personally I hope we keep him (even just fopr rest of season) just to keep consistancy at the back. Rangers have been long touted as admirers and made their intentions known well over a year ago. If he signs a pre contract with Rangers or other club at least Jewell will know the situation and can plan for the summer and we can have McA here for the fight against relegation!

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bluelady added 18:13 - Jan 11 what id like to know is did keane distance himself from negiations becuase he was asked to or was that his way? I have a feeling Jewell will be much more hands on and would have agreed that as part of his contract....
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TractorRoyNo1 added 18:18 - Jan 11 Boro have the same problem, their centre half is being sold on the cheap before his contract runs out, so I expect Mogga to be after McA
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Raedwald_625 added 18:19 - Jan 11 GM has merely highlighted what is going on in football: overpaid and undertalented footballers grabbing what they can, where they can. They don't give a t0ss when it comes to the badge on the shirt. Bringing thru English and even local youngsters is a low cost alternative where effort and pride won't be questioned and kids do have a tendency to learn. Prime examples of this is Real Madrid in the past and Barca today.

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yorksblue added 18:20 - Jan 11 Just when we need to build from the back. Oops! Now we won't have anyone left at the club who can head a ball.
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tractorboybig added 18:27 - Jan 11 most of you should live in a real world. If he has turned the offer down its because he can get better elsewhere. Look at all the players keane wanted who refused the offer town put on the table and went somewhere else. Evans and Clegg are the reason why we are where we are, only has beens and crap are coming here.
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Bergholtblue added 18:37 - Jan 11 Cleggy has said that they will back PJ. If PJ wants to keep him and doesn't think Macca's demands unreasonable then an improved offer will be made. Don't panic! But at the same time, the club must be run on a sound financial footing. If his demands are throught to be too high based upon what he thinks he could earn at Bolton or Rangers, then he will let him go. PJ has a massive job on his hands. He must sort out who he wants to keep and who can and do this quickly, before he finds that the ones he wants have already gone. My main concern is that once again one of the players have gone public. One would have hoped that he would speak to the new manager, in private, first. Again, this is indicative of the mess RK has left this club in. I just get the impression that this is not a hppay club. PJ was right in his interview his firsat job is to get the players happy and wanting to play football again. instil some self belief and get some confidence back. I hope he is up to the task.

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shoopdelang added 18:52 - Jan 11 He is one of the players we need to vreate a good spine, with the rest of the team built around players like him.
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Portman51 added 18:54 - Jan 11 Fault on both sides here I think, primarily with SC but also GM for the timing and attitude. The appointment of Paul Jewell allows us to draw a line under the last 20 months and hopefully start to do things differently, even if there's a financial hit involved in clearing up the mess. The GM and DN contract issues shouldn't be strung out. They're capable Championship players, hardly indispensable. Either they want to wear the shirt or they don't. There's more than enough other talent at PR to keep us up if properly organised and motivated (the only remaining objective for this season IMO). Let's move on.

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