Lee Martin has cast doubt on his Portman Road future by revealing that contract talks between the club and his agent have stalled.

It may not be significant but a number of Ipswich fans are concerned that Martin will go the way of Gareth McAuley, David Norris and Grant Leadbitter before him.

That trio were all allowed to move on when their deals expired, their respective moves to West Bromwich Albion, Portsmouth and Middlesbrough on free transfers meaning Town did not receive a fee for any of them.

Martin, 25, is in the fourth and final year of the contract he signed when then manager Roy Keane signed him from Manchester United in a £1.8 million deal in July 2009.

Current boss Paul Jewell has said he would like to retain Martin’s services - mentioning preliminary talks between owner Marcus Evans and the midfielder's agent in the summer - and the player has consistently reiterated his desire to remain at the club.

He said: “The last I heard was that my agent got an email saying ‘We’ll be in touch’ and that was in August. We haven’t heard anything yet.

“The ball is firmly in the club’s court and other than that, as far as I’m concerned, all I can do is keep working hard and coming in. All the time I’m here I will be fully committed.”

Martin, who has scored six times in his 79 appearances for Ipswich, admits he is frustrated by the lack of progress in securing his future in Suffolk.

But he added: “That’s life, isn’t it? That’s the life of a footballer and you just have to get on with it. Sometime you want to get your future sorted but you just have to keep getting on with it.

“I want to stay, of course I do, but I haven’t heard anything since August. The ball is firmly in their court regarding contract talks. It’s never nice, the not knowing, but I will be giving it my all for the club for the time that I am here.”

When asked if he would be prepared to follow in the footsteps of several team-mates, notably Carlos Edwards and Jason Scotland, and accept a wage cut to extend his time at Portman Road, he replied: “That’s what negotiations are for but they’ve never really got going.”

Photo: Action Images

Sindre94 added 20:27 - Oct 1 I'm confident he'll stay. He WILL get an offer, sooner rather than later hopefully. Not sure how often these "contract suggestions" from the club arrives to the agent, so I cant really see how much of a crisis this is. Hopefully we will sort something out:) COYB
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Talbs77 added 20:35 - Oct 1 RegencyBlue, fantastic point, its mind boggling that a businessman as successful as ME can just allow all his prize assets go for no return on his investments.
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wayway added 20:35 - Oct 1 Good riddance, Another of Keanes wonderbuys up the road. Another in a long list of useless ex Man U wide players. Perhaps Edwards will follow him out
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Ebantiass added 20:38 - Oct 1 My younger brother was a professional footballer and i can assure you its not ALL left to the agent. The player could push things along one way or the other. Martin will most probably go the way of so many others recently for nothing or a pittance. Poss piir management from the top, but no doubt a little success would change the way this club are seen by agents and players alike. Worrying times

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IvorFeeling added 20:57 - Oct 1 We are now in October so we should have a plan. If the manager wants him then sign him up, if you are not signing him because you doubt the manager then sack the manager. Doing nothing stiffs the club, this is why SC is no good for ITFC. Doing nothing is apathy and has and will continue to see us going backwards. What is going on at PR and who is in charge running the show. ME and SC time to publish your (next) 5 year plan. Getting to the PL was an aspiration, is this still the case and if so what is the plan. This should include every facet of the club - academy, youth, scouting, IT, hospitality, corporate, non-match day revenue, first team, reserves, marketing, community, fans, travel and shop. Quite happy to chip in and help you write it and work towards it because without it we are going down the pan. As a test I have just tried to buy tickets for the home match against Cardiff via IPad and so far from the home screen I have gone through 5 different pages just to get the tpoint if choosing my ticket. For those that know the ground you are only another 5-6 screens away from securing them, if you want the system to choose then you are buggered if using an apple machine due to site requiring flash. To quote Alan Brazil which numpty is in charge? I spoke with the ticketing office at th apstart of the season about this an nothing has been done. No wonder that numbers are going down (apart from the dire start of course). Sorry, rant over but is there anyone with half a brain at PR!

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westley added 21:00 - Oct 1 get a local manager in give the job to terry westley would play the youngster who are hungry and would fight for he club couldnt do any worse than the last to muppets oh i mean managers we have had.
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gazmangaz added 21:08 - Oct 1 A forward player who has scored 6 times in 79 appearances, WOW !
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walberswick added 21:33 - Oct 1 nonommothKKKKKthing tnnno worry about here
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walberswick added 21:36 - Oct 1 nothing to worry about, nobody in ther right mind would want to sign him. possibly the least talented two million pound player ever.....
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caught-in-limbo added 21:39 - Oct 1 Let him go. How many Keane signings are we left with now?
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h32 added 22:09 - Oct 1 ...... for the first time in half a century of supporting ITFC, I really couldn't care less about all this anymore. The 'tipping point' has come for me - just had enough. Never thought I would say it - but enough is enough. This is yet another player who has spent most of his time being played out of position ...........
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itfc1981 added 22:22 - Oct 1 Clegg never fails to fail.
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Lightningboy added 22:25 - Oct 1 In an ideal world, footballer's (every single one of them the world over) would be on the minimum wage and therefore playing the game for the pure love of it..football clubs would be back in power (not the player's agents),ticket prices would come down,stadium's would be full,player's would stop flitting from one pay packet to the next......if only.......
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Blue_Fred added 22:26 - Oct 1 Bored now ...... Sorry PJ time is up, we should get rid now cos it's obvious you won't be getting a new contract in the summer. Not sure if anyone else has already suggested this but...........how about giving Brian Klug the managers job? As for LM, as many other s have correctly said, if he really wanted to stay he could knock on doors himself but it's easier to blame it on the club/his agent to keep supporters of his back. He won't sign a new contract and will leave in the summer so we should sell now (after all that's how come we got Taylor from Posh!)

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suffolkpunch1978 added 23:27 - Oct 1 The club needs to start showing the fans more respect, its shambolic what is going on at the moment..... Keep this up and we will become a care home for players who are past it. Sit martyn down and try not to mess this up. PLEASE
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masetheace added 23:46 - Oct 1 No problem - all huff and puff , no end product
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brockleyblueboy added 00:26 - Oct 2 What has happened to this club? Seriously I am just Flabergasted at how badly things are at the moment. It is breaking my heart:-( If we do not get 3 points tomorrow, then Jewell your shoddy reign HAS to come to an end. I am distraught. He has turned us into the Derby team he took down from the PL. Football can turn on a sixpence but this is getting serious :-(
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julesbda added 00:48 - Oct 2 We are a slow train wreck waiting to happen . It will happen and i hope they have someone lined up to take PJ's place . I always been a fan of his but his time is sadly up . The sooner we make the change we can try to turn this season around and get a new defense and get the players fired up to play in blue and white . I don't see any passion and it feels very similar to the end of RK's reign ...

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JackITFC96 added 01:16 - Oct 2 Genuinely sick and tired, all of us together are watching our club fall apart its heartbreaking knowing no one in our team has anything to save us, i say josh Carson needs to step up now, it's his time, needs to bring something new in, keep jet off for the next few
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MickMillsTash added 08:25 - Oct 2 If I was him I would leave relegation battle pay cut fans don't really like him the grass is greener somewhere else
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Karlosfandangal added 08:30 - Oct 2 When he signed it was reported he was on a 4 year deal of 18k how true don't know. If he is offered a 3 year deal on 10k it's still good money and a saving f or the club, bet we are going with a 2 year deal on 8k
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Karlosfandangal added 08:37 - Oct 2 H32 You have done better than me, I had enough after we lost 4 - 0 to Newcastle. Brought 3 tickets for that match and the whole day cost just under £300 pounds ( most of which went to the club) second half I sat on the training pitch with a pie and a pint. Least I was there for the great Sir Bobby Never been back since
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PunchNoHopers added 09:46 - Oct 2 I have to say it has always been on the cards that he wouldn't sign a new contract and be allowed to leave for nothing, clearly down to the contracts on offer from Town (probably also why many other players we have been linked with, have gone elsewhere this year). And the reality is that it isn't going to get any better for the foreseeable future.
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nolanfanips added 10:21 - Oct 2 If he delivered more he would be a real asset but sadly a lot of running with no end product is not good enough. If he delivered good crosses and goals on a regular basis he might get a good contract offer. I'm sure its a case for Lee to earn a new contract!
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simonsays added 13:03 - Oct 2 Surprise surprise. Another player who will leave for £0. CLEGG OUT!
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