Blues boss Paul Jewell has paid tribute to defender Darren O’Dea, whose loan at Town from Celtic has been brought to an early end by the ankle injury he sustained at Swansea on Monday. The 24-year-old Republic of Ireland international has been with the Blues since August, making 22 starts and three sub appearances.

Jewell said: “You would never think that he was a loan player because his commitment in training every day and when he plays is nothing short of terrific.

“He’s a central defender really, that’s his best position, but he’s been forced to play at left-back when he’s played.

“The likelihood is that Darren will go back to Celtic. He’ll certainly go back for the start of next season, I think he’s already been quoted as saying that.”

Meanwhile, former Blues boss Jim Magilton has written a blog for The Guardian on the difficult transition from player to manager.

Photo: Action Images

tractorblue99 added 09:07 - Apr 29 'when he plays is nothing short of terrific'. right...
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blueblood66 added 09:20 - Apr 29 Hot headed therefore a liability
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hollywoodginge added 09:41 - Apr 29 Tractorblue - you have misread, he is saying his commitment is terrific.
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cats_whiskers added 09:45 - Apr 29 A rather exaggerated quote from Jewell, Just another mediocre player acquired by Keane who really doesn't cut the mustard, as to why he's been preferred to O'Connor is a mystery. O'dea Wont be remembered for long except as a statistic.
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Lamby95 added 09:53 - Apr 29 Unfortunately the Norwich games sticks in our heads and people just don't remember the good performances.
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Daleyitfc added 09:56 - Apr 29 Certainly not like a loan player : they often make a real effort to impress. O'Dea is more like an ageing player running down to retirement. Good riddance.
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footyblue added 10:00 - Apr 29 I like him and think he has done a good job Good luck Darren Rather see him play them mistake ridden Delaney
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ernie added 10:23 - Apr 29 Jay Mc Everley anyone?
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Mark added 10:47 - Apr 29 O'Dea may have tried hard, but he has been awful for me. He is a centre back not a left back, so why did Keane bring him here when we already had Delaney and Smith on the left of centre back?! I remember Roy commenting that his wages are not cheap and there could have been a loan fee, so another example of him wasting money on the wrong player.
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timmy2guns added 10:59 - Apr 29 When i read he was 24 i was amazed! I thought he was fast approaching 30 the way he moved around the pitch, unbelievably slow for a full back! Hopefully this early exit will get Jewell thinking from the off about the replacement that is badly needed in this position (as well as others).
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ozzydog added 11:30 - Apr 29 slow and rubbish, good riddance
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SchancheITFC added 11:56 - Apr 29 Are you for real you lot, should try going to a few away games. I hate Ipswich fans sometimes.
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Darren_bent added 11:58 - Apr 29 Magiltons blog is good and true, find it funny how everyone wanted him out when we a couple of places out of the play offs.
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colonel added 12:15 - Apr 29 Tried hard but not good enough and IMO held up the progression of others who I would rather see playing. Had a few decent games but got found out in this league. He is not at all comfortable on the ball and its best that he moves on.
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Darren_bent added 12:16 - Apr 29 were
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bobble added 12:30 - Apr 29 on a brighter note ' beer is on special again get your slabs in its going to be a thirsty couple of years
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TimmyH added 12:43 - Apr 29 yeah - not good enough, played reasonably against Arsenal but then the whole team did. Bye Darren!
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GeorgiDoundarov added 12:56 - Apr 29 Let him be "nothing short of terrific" at Celtic. He was not here so good luck! We need a lot better players to become a real threat in the Championship!
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DiamondGezzer added 14:00 - Apr 29 For me he was like an old school report :- Tries hard, must do better.
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itfc1981 added 14:06 - Apr 29 I agree not like a loan player he was like the other rubbish we have on our books.
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SouperJim added 17:10 - Apr 29 Some very short sighted comments here, he is a centre half who has been filling in at left back folks. If McAuley doesn't sign, we could do much worse than O'Dea when looking for a replacement. He is a decent stopper, doesn't hide and clearly enjoys it here. We could do with one or two more who show his kind of commitment and desire to get stuck in when things aren't going our way.

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