Town midfielder Cole Skuse has confirmed he has yet to discuss the possibility of extending his stay at Portman Road beyond his current contract, which is set to expire at the end of the season, although the club have an option to keep him for a further year.

Skuse, 31, was signed on a free transfer in July 2013 after rejecting the offer of a new deal at first club Bristol City and since becoming a Blue has clocked up 190 appearances, scoring twice.

He said: “There’s nothing to report. It’s not something that is taking my focus away from football. The only thing I can do is play on a Saturday when asked and play on a Tuesday when asked, and do it to my utmost.

“The rest is in the hands of the staff here and the owners here. Their decision will be made and it doesn’t have to be made until the end of the season, so what will be, will be. There’s not much more I can say on it really.”

Could manager Mick McCarthy’s own future have a bearing on that of Skuse? The player added: “He was obviously the one who brought me in, he’s shown a lot of faith in me and I’ve played a lot of games under him.

“But I’m not aware of his situation — only he knows that — so who knows what will happen come the end of the season?

“I’d be lying if I said the manager’s situation hasn’t been spoken about. The lads are aware of players’ and staff members’ contract situations but it’s not something that is discussed in very much depth.

“If you start digging too deep it could have an effect on games and results. It’s out of our hands, it’s in the hands of others, and what will be, will be.”

As has been well documented, McCarthy’s own deal is set to expire in the summer, although the club have an option to extend his stay for a further two years should they wish to do so.

Often on the receiving end of criticism from a section of supporters, the seasoned boss has hinted he may depart at the end of the season.

Should he do so and land a new post elsewhere it would not be a major surprise if McCarthy, who has never been slow to sing the midfielder’s praises, moved to sign a potentially out-of-contract Skuse, so for the time being both their futures are open to speculation and that could remain the situation until the end of the current campaign.

Meanwhile, Skuse is confident Town can continue to punch above their weight in pursuit of a coveted play-off place. He added: “It is forever being touched upon that some clubs are spending millions on signing fees and tens of thousands a week on wages.

“But it’s not the first year that we’ve been hearing that X, Y and Z are spending millions and it’s something we don’t even talk about to be honest. It is what it is and we get on with it.

“Every season I’ve been here, barring last season, we always seem to have a good season and be in and around the play-offs.

“We cannot speak highly enough of the lads who have come in, like Waggy, Garns, Santie, the lads going forward.

“As much as the back four, the goalie and maybe myself are doing our bit, trying to keep them out, as soon as the ball is going forward you are on the pitch feeling as excited as a fan because you know something is going to come about when the ball is in the final third.

“That’s a joy to watch and when Didzy’s on form he is one of the best in the league. So it’s a really exciting time for anyone, really, because to watch these lads in their pomp is a joy.”

Asked if it made Skuse’s role in the side more demanding to have so many attack-minded players on the pitch, he responded: “No, I wouldn’t say so, because if you look at the games they are also doing the flip side of things. They’re not just going forward like mavericks and then thinking ‘Sod it, I’ll walk back.’

“Look at our fourth goal against Nottingham Forest recently when Santie’s done all the work going back and then he’s sprinted up and got a tap-in from Waggy’s cross.

“He’s doing both sides of it and when you see that, how players are busting a gut to get back and blowing out of their hoop then up the other end scoring with a tap-in, it’s a real joy. It doesn’t leave us exposed because we’ve got lads in and around it who can do their jobs and it’s working okay at the minute.

“Yes, we are sometimes tearing our hair out at the soft goals we concede. There’s no doubt there have been goals that have been avoidable but that’s down to us to eradicate and we work on things during the week to make sure they are put right.”

Photo: TWTD

TimmyH added 16:52 - Dec 14 I'd give him a 1 year extension, if he's not happy with that then sell him in January or let him go in May.
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12th_Man added 17:00 - Dec 14 Sign him up been so much better without Douglas next to him
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unknown100 added 17:10 - Dec 14 He'll get another year but in my opinion, the favourites need to go before we move forward e.g chambers, skuse and the wonderful David Mcgoldrick- I prepare for the hate but mcgoldrick is technically a good player but he's greedy, a poor decision maker, slow and injury prone, ahhh that felt good to say 🙂
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cat added 17:18 - Dec 14 Here's one for all you minus munchers (lol) - No news is good news!!! Agree with 2/3 of your post unknown100, think Didz will be off whether we like it or not. Let's hope we get some of them ‘bangers' for him. No complaints on the other 2 though.
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Surco72 added 17:26 - Dec 14 Skuse is not good enough for serious contenders in this league IMO , but will continue to play now that we have signed another injury prone player who we will pay that won't play for rest of season in Huws
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jas0999 added 18:13 - Dec 14 Whether you are a Skuse fan or not, I find the Evans approach to contract renewals unacceptable. Skuse has provided excellent service and deserves to know about his future. Same thing happened to Chambers last year.
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NSL added 20:47 - Dec 14 You can't blame Evans. It's not like these blokes are being forced to sign zero hours contracts and work in a warehouse! Evans has got fed up with players dictating what they will or won't do after creaming clubs on lucrative contracts. Fair play to Evans for structuring it this way.
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blues1 added 20:52 - Dec 14 Yes jas it did and chambers was given a new contract. As with skuse there was an optionfor the club to extend his contract which actually takes away any urgent need to worry about new contracts half way through the season. And in this case particularly, with the fact McCarthy could (hopefully) go at the end of the season, there seems little point in sorting it now, if the new manager wouldnt want him. Better to wait and see

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heathen66 added 22:55 - Dec 14 I have said this before, we (yes we, the club) have the option of another year so have no need whatsoever to offer him a new contract. At the end of this period he will be 33 and legs will be starting to go. If getting towards the end of this period (say next January) he is performing better than he ever has done then by all means offer him another year, however if he does not accept this then Sell Him !!! We cannot afford to allow players to leave for nothing like we did with the current Scottish International CB (Berra). It is no wonder the club is in dire financial strife. Lets not get sentimental...this is a business, and the players are paid very very well so it is not as though they are 'owed' anything. There is not loyalty in football..it is results and ultimately money driven..simple

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baxter7 added 12:22 - Dec 15 Fingers crossed he won't get new contract but being one of mm favourites probably get a 5year contract
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bluered26 added 12:29 - Dec 15 Until investment is made players like,Chambers,Skuse,Mcgoldrick are vital to the club...maybe not so much the later now we have Garner and Waghorn .I did feel the same though when we lost Berra but results say otherwise
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BlueHarmony added 20:32 - Dec 15 A 1 year extension should be a no-brainer, but then think of the quality of younger players we have in Bishop, Dozzell, Hyam, Nydam, Endyami, Hughes & Downes . I love Skusey but you can't stand in the way of the youngsters
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