Striker Daryl Murphy was delighted to be handed the captain’s armband for the very first time when the Blues visited Old Trafford for the Capital One Cup third round tie against Manchester United last week.

“It was brilliant and when the gaffer told me I was going to be captain it was a bit of a surprise,” the 32-year-old admitted.

“But what an absolute honour and there could be no better place to be captain of Ipswich for the first time than at the Theatre of Dreams.

“Everything about the place is top-notch and from the minute you arrive it gives you a lift.

“It was brilliant for the young lads that were involved. To experience that at such an early age and to play against players of such quality is something that is only going to improve them as players.

“Josh Yorwerth did well and has joined Crawley on loan, while Matt Clarke has been on loan at Portsmouth for several weeks. Maybe Josh Emmanuel will be next and I think it’s the best thing for them.

“It will give them games, which is what they need at this age. It’s all very well being in and around the first team training all week but they need to be playing games to develop fully.

“That’s why I went out on loan myself when I was at Sunderland and Celtic, because I knew I wasn’t going to be playing at those clubs.

“It was all about playing for me and gaining that extra bit of experience. They are definitely doing the right thing and they can only benefit from it.”

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