Christophe Berra has dropped his strongest hint yet that his time at Ipswich could be up at the end of the season when his current contract expires.

Berra, 31, has the difficult decision whether to extend his time south of the border to eight years — he was at Wolves for four and by next summer will have spent a similar period at Portman Road — or return to his native Edinburgh in order to spend more time with his young daughter.

He said: “I’ve had a great time down here and as I’ve said before my daughter is four and at some point I’d want to go back home.

“That’s obvious — all my family and friends are there — but at the moment I’m enjoying my football. Ipswich have been good to me and hopefully I can repay them.”

Berra, who has netted 12 times in 147 appearances for Town, would not be short of offers if he chose to move back to Scotland, with former club Hearts one possible destination — but should he help Town win promotion to the Premier League it would make his decision all the more difficult.

He already has one eye on the future, intending to move into coaching and management when his playing days are over, but he is prepared to wait before following Town team-mates Luke Chambers and Jonathan Douglas, who have already started out on the road to gaining the necessary qualifications.

Berra added: “I want to do my coaching badges but not just yet. I’m still involved at international level with Scotland and the sessions are usually on in the summer when we have a game or just after we’ve played.

“To be honest I need to make time for myself so that I can take my daughter on holiday and do things like that. Hopefully there is still plenty of time for that.

“I’ve been in the Scotland squads regularly for about eight years and I’ve always turned up. I’ve missed very few through injury. I’ll still be there until that changes.

“It can obviously be frustrating when you travel and don’t get a game but I’m not the only one who misses out.

“You can have another 12 or 13 who are in the same position but I’m fortunate to have won 33 caps and you just have to get on with it. Life is short so you have to make the most of it sometimes.

“The aim is obviously to qualify for the World Cup finals in Russia in 2018, which will be difficult, that’s what we all strive for and only time will tell.”

Meanwhile, Berra is preparing to face fellow countryman Ross McCormack when big-spending Aston Villa, currently 17th in the Championship, come to town tomorrow searching for what would only be their second win of the season.

Berra admitted: “On paper Villa have a great squad. They have a lot of good players and have spent a lot of money.

“I’m sure they are not that far away but hopefully we can make it a difficult game for them at Portman Road, which a lot of teams have found in the past. That’s what we will be going all out to do.

“Ross is a top player and he has scored a lot of goals over the last three or four seasons. We’ll have to watch him but there are numerous other players who are dangerous.”

Asked if he was surprised that no Premier League had taken a punt on McCormack, who cost £12 million from Fulham last month and has netted twice in seven league games for Villa, Berra replied: “I suppose it’s down to budgets and to be honest these days the Premier League is worldwide and clubs are probably looking abroad for players they can sign for less money.

“Foreign players are generally cheaper and the British market is inflated, which means you can go to Brazil, Spain or wherever and find good strikers for half the price. It all depends on clubs’ budgets and the way they want to progress.”

Photo: TWTD

Pilgrimblue added 13:05 - Sep 16 Agreed Cooky BUT if you watch him closely he's easy to turn now and grapples with attackers more often so is a risk of giving away too many free kicks. Plus he's not tall enough to deal with bigger guys but as has been said he has good timing and positioning that gets him by. Trouble with Smith is that he's never far from making blunder. With Webster we have a great prospect to fill right cb and so for me MM needs to decide who plays left and guess that could lead to Berra going back to Scotland. Can't believe his family aren't down here!

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Seasider added 14:25 - Sep 16 Only the other day it was mentioned that McGoldrick's home is in Nottingham,and we know our Manager doesn't live locally either;but didn't know that same applies to Christophe Berra who has now openly said would like to return to Scotland. Not sure how many other players are just lodging locally;but suppose this is ok as long as it doesn't affect their form.Rumours about him returning in last window,knowing the above,were probably true. Is still a great defender,and Scottish International;so could depart for a small fee in the new year.In the meantime is an integral part of our defence.

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dubblue added 14:49 - Sep 16 Agree it would be sad to lose him, but at 31 he probably only has a couple of years left at this level.
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cowboynickblue added 16:52 - Sep 16 Rumor has it that his family did live around here but, due to some issue his wife has left with his daughter which was around the same time is forme dipped last year. Fair play to you Berra our best defender for the last 3 years. Who wouldn't want to be close to there child.
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