Connolly: Skusey's Underrated But Not By Us Tuesday, 21st Nov 2017 15:48 Town midfielder Cole Skuse may divide opinion among supporters but loanee Callum Connolly believes he is benefiting greatly from playing alongside him. Connolly, who arrived from Everton just before the August transfer window deadline, has so far made five senior appearances — four starts and a substitute appearance — and has featured in midfield in the last two games against Preston and Hull that saw Mick McCarthy’s men collect four points. Connolly, 20, said: “Cole’s a top lad and he’s been great with me ever since I arrived at Ipswich, both on and off the field. He speaks to me a lot and I listen — it can only be good for the team. “I think he’s underrated by a lot of people but we rate him very highly here and that’s what matters. “He might not always get the recognition he deserves from people outside the club, and maybe even at other clubs, but we know what he gives us and we’re glad to have him. “He’s been here a few years and while I don’t know how many appearances he has made, I know he hasn’t missed many games. “He is a well-respected professional and rightly so, and I’m pleased to have someone like him helping me to develop as a player.” It isn’t only Skuse that has taken the young Merseysider under his wing and Connolly added: “Everyone has helped me settle in and not just the older, more experienced lads. Ipswich is a club that makes you feel like you are part of a family.  “We’re close as a team and a squad, and not just when it comes to games and we’re on the pitch together. “I’ve been to the cinema and out for meals, that sort of thing, and at times I’ve gone with a few of the younger lads as well. “When you build up a relationship as a group off the field it makes for a closer bond when you are out there as a team battling for points on match days. “It all starts from the gaffer — he sets the tone and he deserves credit for the atmosphere he has created around the place. “You only need to look at the celebrations when Jordan [Spence] scored the late equaliser at Hull for proof of what it means to us all. “It wasn’t just the players, even the people on the bench were going crazy as well.” The first time he faced the media after completing his loan switch Connolly joked about scrounging meals off colleagues because he was going to be so far from home and had previously been able to rely on his mother’s cooking, even during loan spells with Barnsley and Wigan. But he has brushed up on his own cooking skills and was proud to admit: “I’ve been cooking for myself. Not anything fancy, mind you, just the standard stuff like salmon or chicken with pasta. That’s what you could call the footballer’s diet and I haven’t been eating much else to be honest. “I actually feel pretty settled down here now but it’s a lot quieter in this area than what I was used to before. “With it being such a long way from Liverpool I haven’t been home that much but when you’re playing and enjoying your football it doesn’t matter so much. “I try to take everything in my stride really. My family would like to see every game but the distances involved make it very difficult for them, especially for midweek games.”
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