Town goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski has told fans he will definitely be signing the new contract he recently agreed to remain at Portman Road for at least a further two years.

It was manager Mick McCarthy who revealed a new deal, with the club retaining an option for a third year, had been negotiated but supporters have grown increasingly concerned with the fact that Bialkowski has still not put pen to paper.

However, Bialkowski said today: “I haven’t signed the new contract yet because there are still a couple of things to sort out. Hopefully, it will be done soon.

“I’ve still got the option for next year anyway but as I’ve said so many times before, I love this place and I love the club. The two parties want to sign the contract and it will be done.

“I’m really happy here and the contract will be signed. I still want to play in the Premier League and when I signed for Ipswich I was hoping it was going to be with them.

“Maybe we’re not going to win promotion this season but hopefully next year. It is every footballer’s dream to play at the highest possible level so it is still my dream.”

There were fears that Bialkowski would depart in the January transfer window, with Crystal Palace apparently interested in signing him, and he admitted: “There was interest and at one point I had seven or eight agents calling me about Crystal Palace and saying ‘I can get you that move’.

“But I was quite relaxed about it. If anything happens, it happens, but I just need to keep performing and playing the best I can.

“I have my own agent and I was telling the other agents who called me that they should speak to him. I was leaving it to him.

“I have had calls in the past from agents telling me they can get me this, they can get me that, so from experience I knew I just had to leave it to my agent and just concentrate on my job.”

Bialkowski, 30, goes into tomorrow night’s home clash with promotion-chasing Cardiff City still feeling the hurt of Sunday’s agonising experience at Carrow Road when Norwich snatched an equaliser deep into stoppage time to cancel out Luke Chambers’s 89th minute opener that looked as if it was going to be enough to earn Town their first East Anglian derby victory in nine years.

The keeper added: “It was painful and it is still painful. To concede that goal in the last few seconds of the game was massive punishment for us. We should have seen that game out and made sure we didn’t concede that late goal. But that’s football and some crazy things happen in football. We just need to get on with it now and carry on playing.

“Obviously, it was a massive blow for us. I was just trying to get to the ball because I thought it had come off Jonas [Knudsen] and I didn’t want to give a corner away.

“But then I realised I wasn’t going to get there and I was trying to get back, but I was too late and they scored.

“Every game is massive in this league and every game is hard. It’s going to be very tough tomorrow because they are a well organised team and they are flying at the moment.

“It’s not going to be easy but we’re ready for a scrap. The play-offs will be difficult but we are just taking one game at a time and we’ll see what happens. You never know, we just need to keep playing, keep believing and keep performing.”

Bialkowski was asked if the task was made all the greater because of the ongoing rift between some supporters and McCarthy, whose own future is up in the air, and he responded: “As a professional footballer I am just trying to concentrate and focus on my job.

“It isn’t helping but if we perform well week in, week out, obviously the fans are going to be happy and they will be behind us. We have to give everything to get them back.

“We have had a few good wins at home this season but not for a while now. We need to get back to our best and hopefully that will win the fans back.

“As a goalie you just try to do your job. We played with three at the back on Sunday but it doesn’t really matter what formation we play — we just need to get on with it.

“I think we played really well on Sunday with three at the back. We have played that way before and I think it works well for us.”

Photo: TWTD

12th_Man added 16:48 - Feb 20 Once he knows who the manager will be
1

pragmatic added 16:50 - Feb 20 come on then "club backstabbers" make something out of this, if not the local gutter journalists & media sure will!!!!!!
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Bluetone added 16:54 - Feb 20 At last some good news. Bart staying a massive boost when the supporters need it.
9

FinidiCentenary added 17:00 - Feb 20 Forgive the negatively but ... This is quite shocking. We have our best player, a huge financial asset and other teams were interested in January. I completely trust Bart and expect he means what he says but it's amazing that this was not sorted prior to the transfer deadline. If Bart was to decide not to stay we've just lost a huge amount off his transfer value and he's one of the only sizeable saleable assets we have. Bart hasn't signed it as there are still a couple of details to sort out. If they were sorted, he'd have signed it. As long as those details aren't sorted there's the potential for us to mess him around or him to mess us around. It's staggering incompetence from Evans once again. Trust is a wonderful thing but this is millions of pounds here, circumstances change and we should be protecting our own position, have had this sorted out months ago and not let the window shut with our biggest asset able to screw us over. Not that he will, but if his agent had any sense they could easily use this against us.

3

WestSussexBlue added 17:03 - Feb 20 Brilliant news. Love The Bartman.
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therein61 added 17:03 - Feb 20 Really hope he does sign and then get a new manager in(and get rid of the favourite dead wood) who will not set up for a point at home and let the talented players that we have perform to the best of their ability instead of being curtailed every week which for a pro must be sickening,
2

dirtydingusmagee added 17:15 - Feb 20 Bart has always said he is happy in Suffolk and at Town, Top keeper .He is taking it on the chin for us conceding to budgies, but he was last line of defence and others should be .If he does sign ,[and I think he will] it will be best thing that's happened this season , little else to be pleased about .
5

rfretwell added 17:28 - Feb 20 Great news from Bart. Superb long high ball by Maddison for their equaliser btw. Itvreally put Knudsen under pressure and produced the defensive chaos that lead to the goal. Norwich value him at £30 million
1

blueboy1981 added 17:34 - Feb 20 ....... has to be right for him - I would be somewhat cautious personally if I were him - not too sure he will be terribly impressed with McCarthy or his style of play, which has seen Bart having to be the teams saviour far too often this season. Playing in a less defensive formation would be easier for him. Not forgetting how he had to almost achieve the impossible in dislodging another MM favourite in Gerks earlier on. Would never have the same problem with a any other Manager - Bart will not have forgotten all this. Class Act for sure - the odd mistake / failing can be ironed out with a good GK Coach.

2

cat added 17:37 - Feb 20 Quality news, let's build the team round the mighty Bart!! Two great saves from them free kicks on Sunday, cause I can tell you from experience, you only have milliseconds to react once you first sight that ball flying over the wall.
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ScottCandage added 17:38 - Feb 20 Bart gets it: “It isn't helping but if we perform well week in, week out, obviously the fans are going to be happy and they will be behind us. We have to give everything to get them back." Why doesn't Mick?
5

therein61 added 17:40 - Feb 20 How refreshing to hear " I love this place and the club and the contract will be done" a statement from someone you can actually believe!!! there's a few at the club who could take a lesson from that Mick and his crawlers spring to mind!!
3

OohArrPaulGoddard added 18:27 - Feb 20 Not sure if I am reading too much into this but perhaps he wants some kind of clause in the contract to allow him to go as a reasonable price if a premier league club come in for him. Would not blame him he has been a great servant to the club
2

TractorBeezer added 19:01 - Feb 20 Good news Bart. You have been brilliant. Hopefully the two items will get resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both parties.
2

cranky_old_tractor added 19:15 - Feb 20 Excellent news.
2

arc added 22:22 - Feb 20 (Forgive me, but...) the headline doesn't really match the content–contract will be signed IF things are worked out. Might as well be a "come and get me" plea. (Ugh.)
0

pegasus added 07:34 - Feb 21 This man shines in the gloom.
1

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 08:51 - Feb 21 Bart seems a great guy and he's a great goalkeeper, but in the world of business (which is unfortunately where we are in football these days) nothing is settled until it is signed on the dotted line. Please sign soon, Bart!
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