Ipswich keen to keep on-loan ace Andrews

IPSWICH boss Paul Jewell is confident he has a chance of keeping on-loan Ireland international Keith Andrews at Portman Road for the second half of the season, despite interest from a string of Premier League clubs.

Andrews’s half-season spell from Blackburn is up in the first week of January and Everton, Aston Villa, Wigan, Bolton and Swansea all understood to be monitoring his situation.

Jewell says Andrews doesn’t want to return to relegation-threatened Rovers despite having 18 months left on his contract and he believes that gives Ipswich a greater chance of securing another loan or negotiating a permanent deal.

Jewell explained: “When I first brought him here in August we had a long chat and he said that he wants to be at a club which is moving forward, that’s got ambition, that wants to go forward rather than just being part of a relegation scrap in the Premier League.

“It’s hard for players being part of that relegation scrap at times. Although they’re playing at a higher level, it’s almost no fun. You’re going into games knowing that you’re hardly going to touch the ball. They were his words, not mine.

“Even though there might be some Premier League clubs in for him, if they’re not Premier League clubs in the top half, I think we’ve got a chance to compete.

“We haven’t got a chance to compete against them in terms of money, but Keith’s not all about money, he’s about the future, which is what gives me hope that we might be able to sign him.”

Earlier in the week, Ireland regular Andrews said he didn’t believe the Blues were doing enough to show hey were seriously interested in keeping him, despite his agent having met with owner Marcus Evans and chief executive Simon Clegg on Monday.

Jewell, who spoke with his nine-goal top scorer yesterday, admits he might have talked with the 31-year-old sooner, although during Ipswich’s recent run the boss says his thoughts were elsewhere.

“I said to Keith this morning that we’d lost seven on the bounce and I was wondering whether I was going to be here, never mind Keith.

“I’ve got a terrific relationship with Keith, we’re both quite strong-minded people and I said to him that maybe I should have had a chat with him, but it’s come to a head now. He knows that I want to keep him, he knows the club want to keep him, it’s just whether the agent and the club can come to an agreement and whether Blackburn agree to it. There are going to be other clubs in for him, so there are a lot of factors.”

Jewell says Andrews has consistently indicated that he’d like to remain with Town: “Every player says they’d like to stay, but I think Keith has shown his commitment, that he wants to stay. He’s a strong character and he intimated to me when he first came that he wants to be here long term. And we’d like that.”