Blues boss Mick McCarthy says he has told striker Leon Best that he won’t play for Town again.

Former Ireland international Best, 30, joined the Blues on a deal to the end of the season in August - with an option for a further season - following a trial and has made six starts and six sub appearances without scoring.

“Leon is still at the club but I have told him he won’t play for me again,” McCarthy told the club site.

“I took him on when we lost Murph. He came in and trained really well. He impressed everyone. He was in the right place at the right time but he has not done it since though.

“That is my view. I’m sure Leon has a different one. Football is all about opinions but it’s mine that counts here.

“I told him after the Lincoln game that he is not part of my plans here. He’s still with us and may have to have something done with his groin. We will see but he won’t be playing for us.”

Meanwhile, McCarthy says there have been no further developments regarding the extension of anyone's contract with skipper Luke Chambers and fellow centre-half Christophe Berra among a number of players whose deals include options for further seasons, as are Best, Giles Coke and Paul Digby as well as youngsters Kundai Benyu, Michael Crowe, James Blanchfield, George Fowler, Jacob Marsden, Monty Patterson, Shane McLoughlin and Chris Smith.

“There’s nothing happening with contracts," McCarthy said. "And when you analyse that, if you sit down and think about it, when a club’s got options on them, that’s exactly what it is.

"It’s an option to take it up, up until the date that option runs out. And that’s just what we’ll do.”

Jonathan Douglas is out of contract at the end of the season, an option in his deal having been triggered at the end of last year, as is young defender Joe Robinson.

Photo: TWTD

miltonsnephew added 19:15 - Jan 26 Hope he was signed on a pay as you play deal!?!?
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Mark added 19:16 - Jan 26 “Leon is still at the club but I have told him he won't play for me again” If he won't play again, why is he still at the club? This is very unusual, as convention is to make a player available for transfer in these circumstances rather than rule him out ever featuring again. The wording almost implies that he won't play for Mick but there could be another manager he will play for. I am not too worried as he was a gamble that could have worked out. It's just a pity our management could not have got both Best and Ward performing the way they did for Warnock at Rotherham last season.

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BlueandTruesince82 added 19:17 - Jan 26 I said after the Lincoln game the furthest he ran all night was to the touchline when he got hooked. Got his contract and rested on his Laurels. If had an ounce of the talent he has I would work like a horse to be the best I could be but I sense Leon does not want to be the best he can and was pretty happy doing a cushy bench warming job. Wish granted, too many players like that these days. What I wouldn't give to be good enough to be in the squad at Town. Players need to remember that.

18

corfu72 added 19:17 - Jan 26 Never hit the note here.Total waste of wages.!
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runningout added 19:18 - Jan 26 Never mind.. watch Leon move on and score a few against us.. That's football :-)
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mos added 19:20 - Jan 26 Atleast we are finally being somewhat strong-minded about things, and not just poking at things. If someone has a decent plan, let's do it. Let's not half-heartedly do things, if Best doesn't fit whatever plan we came up with. Then fair enough, get rid of the man. Finally Ipswich is now thinking like a business that wants to improve. Atleast I hope,
1

BudapestByBlimp added 19:21 - Jan 26 "He's still with us and may have to have something done with his groin". Great - sounds like Mick's going to torture him for his alleged comments.
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Jonnosdreadlocks added 19:25 - Jan 26 Dear oh Dear. Another MM balls up!
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Woodbridgian added 19:32 - Jan 26 Oh what a surprise! Came on the recommendation of that other Dinosaur Warnock says it all !
0

sirmichealmills added 19:32 - Jan 26 You took him on mick, so what does that say? Is he not one of the "different class" mates? Everyone knew he was another has been
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Smithy added 19:34 - Jan 26 Can't argue with Mick on this, the display at Lincoln was one of the worst performances I have seen from a Town player, although to be fair he wasn't alone and didn't get much service but his body language, attitude and effort were beyond repair.
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Surco72 added 19:34 - Jan 26 Didn't see this happening in August .... Shame our overpaid manager didn't , another year of wasted wage
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algarvefan added 19:35 - Jan 26 I hate players who don't try and are only interested in the money, if that was any of us we would rightly be sacked. It's not his groin that needs looking at, it's his head, most of us would run our hearts out for the club. Players like that drag others down to their level, pay him off and get rid today!!
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Vancouver_Blue added 19:41 - Jan 26 I said he was rubbish, thanks Leon you have proven me right
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Kesgraveblue57 added 19:41 - Jan 26 Well done Mick you did the right thing
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RonFearonsHair added 19:42 - Jan 26 I suspect that it has already been agreed that Berra will go in the summer. However, I am uncomfortable at the suggestion that we could feasibly tell Chambers whether he has a new contract with a days notice. He and his family deserve to be treated better than that.
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TimmyH added 19:42 - Jan 26 Well done Mick (sarcasm)...a few on here had reservations about him, the press conference when he signed and then turned up in his vest raised a few eyebrows probably said everything you need to know.
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Knightsy added 19:43 - Jan 26 Great Signing Mick.....not Waste of a wage, like Coke
5

HALLSJ added 19:45 - Jan 26 Thank god
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Ipswichbusiness added 19:53 - Jan 26 I don't blame MM for this one. Murphy was sold late in the transfer window and we needed to get someone in. He had a look at him and thought it would work. It hasn't and that's football. He wan't the only underperforming player against Linclon by any means. Hopefully, we will lose Best, Douglas and Coke in the summer.
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MVBlue added 19:53 - Jan 26 Terrible against Lincoln. Awful. Needs to find a different manager.
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TheDailyTractor added 20:16 - Jan 26 Wonder how Chambers feels about that (if ive read that correctly). Regardless of how people feel he gives 100% and deserves to know imo, and personally id like him to stay.
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bluearmy4life added 20:17 - Jan 26 Very poor signing in the first place. Do your homework in bringing in the right sort of player to our club rather than taking punts/risks. Simply not good enough.
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Bildestoned added 20:17 - Jan 26 It's very easy to state my total lack of surprise here but the signing was never anything more than yet another of those 'let's give it a punt; he may be a different class!' attempts that we have repeatedly witnessed over the last two seasons in particular.
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jas0999 added 20:32 - Jan 26 No surprises, most knew he wouldn't be any good.
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