Town midfielder Luke Hyam has revealed he was close to quitting the club last season after being told he had no future at Portman Road.

Hyam, now thriving under the tutelage of manager Mick McCarthy and his assistant Terry Connor, felt he had little alternative but to move on when he found himself unable to claim a regular first team place.

The former Northgate High School pupil was named in the starting line-up for the Carling Cup defeat by Northampton in August 2011 but then failed to add a further senior appearance until January 2012.

Hyam, 21, said: “It is true that I was fairly close to moving on. I wasn’t playing and I was basically told that the club would be letting me go. It was made clear that I would have to move elsewhere.

“I was looking at League One or League Two teams with a view to getting out on loan. But then we had a few injuries and suspensions, and I played against both Hull and Blackpool. After that I was offered a new contract for two years. It just goes to show how quickly things can change in football.

“There was nothing else for it but to keep on working and waiting for my chance. I kept on training to the best of my ability, always believing in myself and that I would get my reward at some point.”

Now an integral part of McCarthy’s team and recently named as the club’s most improved player, Hyam has blossomed as more of an all-round midfielder than under previous boss Paul Jewell.

He added: “I feel as if the manager really believes in me and I think that’s important for any player. We want the manager to have confidence in us and we all want to be loved. It all helps when you are out there on the pitch.

“Maybe that wasn’t the case with the previous manager but they all have different opinions and they like certain players more than others. That’s just the way it is in football but things can change very quickly and I think I’ve proved that.

“It’s not about proving people wrong, just showing what I can contribute as a member of the team. If I’m out to prove anything to anyone it’s me. I still want to improve and I feel I can be a better player in the coming years.

“I’m pushing myself all the time to be better. It’s not about what some other people might think, it’s about working hard and proving to myself that I have what it takes to be successful as a footballer.”

Photo: Action Images

John_Portman added 08:13 - May 3 if he had gone...
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TractorCam added 08:15 - May 3 Well thankgod he stayed! He's had a great season and will always be improving
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Keaneish added 08:28 - May 3 I wonder how many other decent players might have blossomed under MM and TC had previous regimes not let them go!! Not sure he's an all round midfielder yet. Needs to add a few more goals to his game but sure they'll come next season when we go up!!
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Surco72 added 08:40 - May 3 Jewells lack of faith in the youngster was one of his biggest mistakes after he came in the season before and helped turn our season around ,playing Reo Coker above him was laughable . Doesnt compare with playing Edwards at right back for so long though ,since MM has installed a proper right back the defence looks better and Edwards is getting forward and scoring . Keep going Luke , as stated before along with the back five could be the core of Ipswich for a number of years

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Wickets added 08:43 - May 3 Keane and Jewel double act?
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blueherts added 08:53 - May 3 wickets - Dumb and Dumber would be a better choice
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HarryfromBath added 08:53 - May 3 Thank goodness for Mick's patience and natural judgement. He has an ability to see how good a player can become, and also then to work with them to fulfil their potential. It has been wonderful to watch Luke progress and start to fulfil his potential. If Marcus or the Managing Directors do pop on here, I would say to them to take great care of Mick. We will be hard pushed to find another one like him.

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WashbrookBlue added 09:01 - May 3 Surco 72 ...it wasn't just Jewell who chose to play Reo Coker ahead of Hyam , it was MM too in the first months of his appointment ( check out the stats and MM's own comments). Its a curious one this. Whenever Hyam played the odd game , he consistently played well and won much praise from the terraces with cries for him to be given more opportunities. And yet both Jewell and MM (initially) have been reluctant. We might say that what we are now getting is simply what he was always giving but just never had the opportunity and that his obvious potential was ignored. They would probably say - indeed MM has - that he just didn't show anything in training to get ahead of more experienced donkeys....sorry, pros. If you're good enough , you're old enough should be the maxim. Either way, thank God he's still here because he has made every bit the same contribution to our defensive solidity as Chambers & Smith. If the team can only accommodate EITHER Hyam or N'Daw , its just not even a debate in my book.

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bluefeast added 09:12 - May 3 Reo Coker above him was laughable. In fact when I go through a very long list of those that have played central mid for us , Reo Coker is at the bottom of the list. He was so poor yet spent his time shaking his head at others. Where is he now ,OBLIVION ... which IS THE RIGHT PLACE..
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BillBlue added 09:26 - May 3 Washbrook. You are articulating what I thought at that time. I decided that Hyam is a fresh faced young man, one could almost say cherubic looking school boy, and I think that is what went against him initially with both PJ and MM! It was startling how everybody kept saying how well he was playing and how big a bag of rubbish Reo-Coker was and yet still RC was preferred. At least it came out right in the long run but would have been yet one more tragedy had he left.

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theobald1985 added 10:22 - May 3 managers value experience because that is what they sell themselves on. we should have a quota for players produced from the academy of 2 players to start with. every club should be able to train enough players up to standard to comply with this and it would help football generally and improve academy coaching as they would HAVE to produce players who can play in the first team. we would already comply with this and after seeing the under 15s against spurs im convinced we have more lads who can make it. so glad hyam still here can marshall the midfield for years to come

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blueblood66 added 10:31 - May 3 PJ was clueless
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osborne23 added 12:44 - May 3 Just think if we had Jordan Rhodes and Connor Wickham under MM!!
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SouperJim added 12:50 - May 3 Jesus wept, what an utter shambles we were under the previous two mismanagers and thank feckery for Mick.
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Kikapu added 12:55 - May 3 Nice tackle Reo!! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2305786/Nigel-Reo-Coker-gets-a
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BlueBhoy added 12:57 - May 3 It's funny with Ipswich , and I suppose any other clubs, that the fans general consensus is ignored. I heard loads of time on here and in the match and pubs etc before games , people moaning about jewell not giving the youngsters a run and a few games to get some football . Or that this player is played out of position etc. then when they are moved into a favoured position , or blooded , it turns out to be a good move. Not always , but is always worth a gamble if plan a isn't working. How come the majority of fans can see things that are wrong and need changing and yet jewell and Keane - supposed footballing experts- knew better and end up with us at the wrong end of the table. Is it an ego thing , and therefore MM and TC don't seem to have fallen into the trap. Not saying we all know better , just strange when something is obvious , the coaching staff see something different. Hopefully the management team we have now keep there more humble work ethic and ego's in tact and we can work towards where we were under Sir Bobby Robson and the cobbled family.

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BlueBhoy added 12:59 - May 3 Cobbold.
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Paulc added 13:35 - May 3 I almost left town as well. I was contemplating upping sticks and getting as far away from Paul Jewell as I could! The fans: PJ, we need a right back and you need to give Hyam a run of games PJ: I know what I'm doing The result: MM gives Hyam a crack at it and gets a recognised RB, we avoid relegation! It was all so bleedin obvious wasn't it?
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Lightningboy added 15:23 - May 3 Would've been a disgrace if we'd let him go..we've let so many promising youngsters go in the last few seasons (Rhodes + Garvan being the obvious)..would rather see us sending them out on season long loans than writing them off for next to nothing. Good job Mick + TC seem to believe in giving everyone a fair chance..hopefully Luke will be here for many years. Ideally we'll go up next season and be in a position to bring Rhodes back.

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itfcbarmyarmy added 15:29 - May 3 Great attitude from both the manager and the players at the moment keeping there head above the clouds and just taking each day as it comes. There is no point going and rushing promotion look at what it has got QPR into and Reading to some extent. coming back down with a massive wage bill and lots of players who will not be staying.
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