Blues legend Shefki Kuqi has revealed he has applied for the vacant manager’s job at Portman Road.

Kuqi was with Town as a player between September 2003 and June 2005, forming a potent strike partnership with Darren Bent which fired the Blues into the play-offs in successive seasons, and later returned for a further spell on loan at the end of 2007/08.

The Kosovo-born former Finland international’s experience in management has so far seen him take charge of Finnish sides FC Honka, PK-35 and Inter Turku.

Speaking to Mark Murphy’s breakfast show on BBC Radio Suffolk this morning (1hr, 27mins, 25secs) Kuqi confirmed that he has thrown his hat into the ring.

“I did put my application in,” he said. “I told them where I am, they know where I am.

“I’ve been following things very closely, I’ve been to loads of games and I believe strongly I know what needs to be changed.”

Why does he want the job? “I’ve always said I had the best time of my career at Ipswich Town. Since I’ve become a manager, I’ve followed very closely and I believe I know exactly what’s going on there, what the problems are and what needs to get done.”

The 45-year-old paid tribute to the passion among Blues supporters and particularly their affinity with local players, something he believes is currently missing.

“Those people are passionate about the club,” he said of the fans. “And they come in there and they support you. And when they give everything, they even push you a little bit to that extra edge.

“Because of that connection, no disrespect to any players because everybody tries their best, but when you’ve not got those local boys there who know what that club means and what that badge means, that’s a different feeling. I just don’t see that that’s there right now.”

Kuqi previously applied for the job in the summer of 2018 when he outlined his thinking in a lengthy interview with TWTD.

Photo: TWTD

dirtydingusmagee added 17:03 - Dec 8 just as an add on, people who keep saying we cant /wont get so and so from higher, need to raise the bar, accepting less and and lowering expectations is why we are in this crap league now .
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bluesman added 17:08 - Dec 8 I heard Solskjær is applying
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MaySixth added 17:15 - Dec 8 Anyone who thinks appointing Shefki Kuqi as our manager needs to stop smoking crack immediately.
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multiplescoregasms added 17:16 - Dec 8 Loved him as a player, but think this would not be good for us at this moment in time. Saying that, do any of us know what we really need? I thought PC was a good prospect, so I know nothing. I honestly don't know who I would like as the new one, no idea whatsoever.
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Monkey_Blue added 17:20 - Dec 8 100% Absolutely not…. Regardless of what you think of him as a player and BTW jumped to Blackburn or should that be swallow dived? When and as soon as it benefitted his career( as he should have), his coaching CV is absolutely nondescript.
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jas0999 added 17:41 - Dec 8 One thing loving the club - I do. But am I capable of managing the club? No. Neither is Kuqi. Nowhere near enough experience. There will be better options out there.
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Saxonblue74 added 18:13 - Dec 8 Absolutely not. This is not time for a punt on someone who wants to make a name for themselves
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Linkboy13 added 18:21 - Dec 8 I agree Maysixth dont think they are smoking crack though just talking out of it.
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ThaiBlue added 18:22 - Dec 8 2 hopes,bob hope,no hope.
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 18:33 - Dec 8 Great guy, but maybe not as manager. I think he hits the nail on the head, though, about local players. ITFC's lifeblood and ethos used to be about bringing through players from the youth teams. Supporters love this more than anything, and we do seem to have a number of good prospects who I'd be happy to see given the time to develop into first team players, rather than buying more off-the-shelf additions. The latter have so far certainly not lived up to expectations, so let's give the yoof a chance.

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ArnieM added 18:43 - Dec 8 Bless him . You can't knock his endeavours but I doubt he has much chance with the caliber of some applicants as competition . But good luck to him ..,,
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johnwarksshorts added 18:56 - Dec 8 What about Valdimir Petkovic and Maricio Taricco?
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MJR101 added 19:01 - Dec 8 Ah Kuqi and Bent. Who would have thought two up front would succeed?
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Monkey_Blue added 19:11 - Dec 8 MJR101… in fairness that was 20 years ago and even without the players who were sold, Royle had two seasons of a mainly premier league line up. Stop thinking formation is the same as tactics. 4321 is very attacking if the tactics are very attacking. Liverpool don't play two up front, Man City don't etc etc etc.
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blues1 added 19:43 - Dec 8 To all those saying yes to him, answer me this? He states that the issue at the club is we don't have local players? How many local players does anyone know of good enough to bring us success? And thats his recipe for sorting things out? God help us if he got the job. Which is as unlikely as a heatwave on Xmas day. Excellent player for us but manager? No thankyou.
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mathiemagic added 19:47 - Dec 8 @johnwarksshorts - Nice shout but no one in French L1 is going to leave for Div 3 in England. No name has jumped out of me yet but if we could get the likes of Kuki and Taricco in as coaches/assistants alongside a good manager then we get the management skills and Town greats to boot. Its half the season in, we are so far behind they will appoint someone who may just pull the miracle out of the bag and the only one the Americans will see is Warnock. That's my suspicion anyway.

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Nobbysnuts added 19:57 - Dec 8 Good god..nooooooooooo!!!!!!!
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KernewekBlue added 20:09 - Dec 8 This will be the first time THIS board has chosen someone to manage Town, without Marcus Evans poking his oar in and choosing someone cheap. I know there was all the blather about the new owners wanting Paul Cook as their "preferred" choice, but I take that with a large pinch of the proverbial. Let's see how they go about their business and who we get. Can't be any worse than an Evans appointment, that's for sure!

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bluesince76 added 20:18 - Dec 8 Need a manager that will attract good players prem/champ or foreign manager I would prefer foreign as we need a complete change of the type we've been getting last 15 years.
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Dissboyitfc added 20:23 - Dec 8 Kuqi was and will always be remembered as a blues legend i loved watching his dives after scoring! Wish we had some of his passion playing for us right now.But its a massive no thanks from me, 2 reasons, firstly i dont believe he is whats required right now and secondly i want him to remain a legend with those good memories i would never want to remember him as a failed itfc manager! Next, there will be better options out there and hopefully Mark Ashton and Mike O'leary will appoint that man!

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austractor added 21:46 - Dec 8 As much as I want an "Ipswich man" in charge, after the last 20 years I prefer a bloody good manager. Everyone thinks they know whats wrong but its far more complex than just hugging the fans. Cooks problem to me was he was too rigid tactically, but otherwise he believed in playing the right style and was a very likeable and pro-supporter type of guy. The squad he assembled had the balance wrong for this league, look at the top 6 and you will see that. Whoever comes in needs to be smart and bold enough to set us up to win games, and us as fans need to understand that in this league sometimes that will mean fighting ugly with ugly, and right now we dont have the mix of players capable of doing that it seems. We want to play people off the park and play the "ipswich way" and all of that, and we dont want to go back to permanent Mick ball just to get us up quickly, but we also need to be realistic and play each game as it needs to be played. Cook failed at that. Anyway, just my feelings on it, I will continue to follow the circus regardess. COYB.

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Suffolkboy added 23:11 - Dec 8 Our Management Board are pretty professional ,though I reckon MA will feel he got his fingers burnt at least with the incredible efforts he put into backing PC and this doubtful load of non- performing so called footballers ! Caution , careful examination and in depth interviews seem likely to be the way forward ; AND I do hope we won't go anywhere near Lennon who is of dubious character to say the very least ! COYB

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JimInGreensboro added 02:07 - Dec 9 Please tell me "Shekfi" doesn't mean "Paul" in Finnish.
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BontyBlue added 06:56 - Dec 9 It's a shame that Mick McCarthy and Terry Connor left on such sour terms. The ranting at the fans was not good. But.. just for one moment.. what would MM and TC be like with a budget and some excellent new recruits plus a few who need to wake up from their sleepy start? I could forget the foul language with some early success and his label of ‘dinosaur' is ageist. And I'm no fan of PC. Err no pun intended. Don't start.. I'll get m' coat.

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Lukeybluey added 07:27 - Dec 9 I personally would like to see John Terry, or as another person said on a different feed the manager from Bodo Glimt in Norway. Foreign managers seem to work well for a lot of clubs...why not look to Germany, Holland or Scandinavian clubs....would be nice for someone to come in with completely new ideas...
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