Central defender Tommy Smith has signed a new two-year deal with the Blues. The New Zealand international’s current contract was due to end on June 30th.

The 22-year-old, whose new deal includes an option for a further season, says he’s pleased to commit his future to the club he joined on leaving school at 16, although he admits that at one stage it looked like his time with Town might be coming to an end: "I'm obviously delighted to have signed the contract and sorted out my future.

“When I wasn't in the squad for a few months, it crossed my mind that I may have to move on. That's not something I wanted to happen. I got my head down though, worked hard and changed the manager's views of me.

"It was a year of ups and downs but I was pleased with how I performed at the back end of the season - and how we played as a team as well. There were definite signs of progress and I think we reaped the benefits of having a settled side

"It's important we start next year well. We've not done that for a while but there are a lot of positives we can take from the way we finished the season and I'm looking forward to being involved."

Photo: Action Images

harlingblue added 18:19 - May 16 At last good positive news. Tommy had a great second part of the Season, benefitting from a run in the team. A solid, organising partner would now be a bonus...who is his partner in the NZ team? they don't normally give many goals away!
0

h32 added 18:48 - May 16 ...... all this lad needs right now is GOOD DEFENSIVE COACHING - do we have it at the Club ????? The potential is most certainly there with the player to become an outstanding defender - he has all the attributes. But he needs adequate COACHING for sure.
0

buryblue77 added 19:34 - May 16 Great news, he was solid most of the time after he came in and a lot more convincing than experienced defenders like Sonko and Collins, just need to find him a right footed partner now.
0

TimmyH added 19:53 - May 16 yep good news, form picked up in the New Year and was the MOM quite a few times on our player ratings for matches, keep up the good form.
0

Talbs77 added 20:29 - May 16 Glad to hear he has signed as think he can still be a really good player, just has to make sure he concentrates for the full 90 mins and cuts out the silly mistakes, but that will come with experience hopefully. Good luck to the boy.
0

ericgates added 21:58 - May 16 great news!!!
0

billlm added 22:07 - May 16 give us some more scoops this ones boring
0

StochesStotasBlewe added 22:48 - May 16 Good man. Potential to improve more next season.
0

walberswick added 23:00 - May 16 Kick out PJ and get Steve Clarke from Liverpool.
0

HK_Bluey added 00:58 - May 17 This is good news, as is the fact the club has moved swiftly to clear out some of last year's mistakes. Sign Scotland, find someone to take Ellington and secure 2-4 good additions on permanent contracts. We need a stable team early season to get off to a good start so hopefully we will get most deals done sooner rather than later
0

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls