Former Blues striker David McGoldrick has revealed he was “open to staying” at Town last summer but incoming boss Paul Hurst “said no”.

The 31-year-old subsequently went on trial to Sheffield United and won a contract and, having remained fit throughout the campaign, has netted 12 goals for the Blades to help the South Yorkshiremen to second in the Championship.

McGoldrick, then the club’s highest-paid player, departed Portman Road in May last year after no new contract was offered at the end of another injury hit season, however, he says he was still open to extending his time with the club but was denied the opportunity by Hurst, whose short ill-fated reign began in June.

“I was open to staying there but the new manager came in and said no,” McGoldrick said at a press conference while with his former Town boss Mick McCarthy’s Republic of Ireland squad yesterday.

“That was in June, so I started to look around. I got seven goals last year and you can’t go knocking down the doors of clubs saying, ‘Sign me, Sign me!’

“There were teams saying, ‘Yeah, we like him’, but nothing was happening. I was training on my own, thinking, ‘Is this where I am at?’

“There are players I played with that aren’t playing now and they had successful Championship and Premier League careers. It’s hard out there at the minute.

“No one really wanted to give me a chance, so I worked on my fitness and improved myself. I got the buzz back just from being . . . not wanted!

“It was a kick up the arse, this was where I was at. I wasn’t a golden player at a team like Ipswich any more. I had to go and prove myself.”

Hurst has previously denied having had any say in McGoldrick’s Town departure: “McGoldrick was never on any list that I had. He wasn’t even on a budget sheet, which made me laugh considering he’d been the highest paid player at the football club. It was as though you wouldn’t know that, so that one always brought a smile to my face.”

McGoldrick, who has won six Ireland caps, is back in the squad for the first time since May 2017 but has no complaints about his absence for the last two years.

“It was pretty straightforward, my form at Ipswich over the last two years, I had a lot of injuries and wasn’t the player I was when I first came into the squad,” he admitted.

The former Nottingham Forest and Southampton man outlined some of the freakish injuries which hampered him during his five and a half years at Portman Road.

“I did a back-heel in training, tore my hamstring and was out for four months,” he recalled. “I jumped up in the air to control the ball and tore my groin and was out for three months.

“I landed on my knee, studs went and popped my knee when I landed on it. I was out for six weeks. You can’t do anything about that.”

He added: “I was playing with injuries when I shouldn’t because I couldn’t get fit. Arising from a loss of form, your confidence goes. I was the main man at Ipswich and they were always banking on me being out there.”

Having left the Blues, McGoldrick found himself in limbo in the summer and spent time training with Forest’s U23s - their coach Chris Cohen is an old friend - before receiving the call from the Blades.

“Every day you are waiting for the agent to tell you something,” he said. “As soon as he told me about Sheffield United, I was straight up the M1.

“I’ve got kids and a family, I’ve got bills to pay. I wanted to secure a contract for them. I’ve done that, but I want to keep going.”

He added: “I don’t think you realise it until you’re in that sort of situation. I maybe got a bit too comfortable at Ipswich, although I loved my time there.

"We were mid-table and there were no big expectations to win every game, like there is at Sheffield United at the moment.

“I didn’t want to stop playing football. I wanted to be back doing it every day and scoring goals.”

Photo: TWTD

blue86 added 18:14 - Mar 19 will always love you david mcgoldrick, unlucky with injuries but an absolute joy to watch when fit. hurst on the other hand! im not even going to bother to rant, but he is a massive reason we are in this mess.
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therein61 added 18:21 - Mar 19 Midtable with no expectations to win!!!!! yet another damning statement to the messiahs reign that started our decline!.
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RegencyBlue added 19:00 - Mar 19 I detest Hurst for what he did to the club in the summer but on this he can't be blamed. DM spent so much time injured it didn't look to be worth giving him another contract.
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mrmorisato added 19:31 - Mar 19 There's only one selfish idiot I'm blaming for this and it's niether Paul Hurst, David McGoldrick or Mick McCarthy (although the latter needs to shoulder partial blame for the club's lowly position). It is Marcus Evan's fault for allowing David McGoldrick to leave this club WITHOUT securing a transfer fee!!! I would have snapped Leicester City's hand off for an Injury prone footballer. Just think what £7.5M would have done for the team??!! Freed up wages and would probably have secured the services of a couple other quality players :( Ever since Marcus Evans declined Leicester's offer David McGoldrick has never really forgiven Evans for denying him of his premier league dream of which now he will probably achieve with Sheffield Utd. His head and mentality have not been the same since his snuff, does anyone else out there strongly agree with me here?!? The other contributing factor here is his family who are based in the Nottingham area, so he was destined to leave the club anyway (in my opinion) It's just ME was never going to capitalise on his departure just like a dozen other quality players over the last decade!!! Finally, Mick McCarthy stated that DM was injured in the final few months of his Town contract, An issue that I disagree with. To me, DM was unhappy and fed up with life at Ipswich and wanted to go before last Summer but couldn't which also makes me believe that DM is not telling the whole truth. #EvansOut

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Gcon added 19:48 - Mar 19 I see what you've done there. Turning a story about McGoldrick and Hurst into a Mick McHatefest. STILL! Amazes me how the owner is never guilty, everything is always Mick McCartney's fault.......
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cat added 20:08 - Mar 19 What a load of old ‘bobbins' funny he should say that in the company of McCarthy!! As others have correctly stated, he wanted a move up north for family reasons.
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Dissboyitfc added 20:11 - Mar 19 not many and i include myself in this thought it was worth giving Dids a new contract, a big earner who was always injured and didnt really look up for it in his final games and the quote that not much was expected, backs that up! however, hindsight is a wonderful thing! I disagree with you Mrmorito. i doubt MM wanted dids to leave and if Evans had of sold him, he would of got slaughtered for not backing the club and cashing in on a prized asset, with the benefit of hinsight selling was the right thing to do, but at the time i felt it was a show of support to his manager who would have said to ME he wants to keep him! If MM had said sell him, he would have gone! I blame hurst for lots of things, but this is not one of them.

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Warkys_Tash added 21:59 - Mar 19 WHY DID HURST SO BLATENTLY LIE ABOUT THIS?? Someone isn't telling the truth. MacG our best player by a mile but needed to get fit and stay fit, that was the problem. for me he spent 5 years here and then disappointedly never said goodbye to the fans - This is the first sound bite we have had. It was indicated to us fans that even if McCarthy would have stayed MacG wasn't going to be offered a new contract as Evans wanted him off the wage bill.

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mrmorisato added 22:06 - Mar 19 @Dissboyitfc - DM was unhappy at Ipswich after he was denied his Premier League dream when Leicester came in for him. ME has got a track record of allowing senior valuable players run down their contracts and leave the club for nothing and unfortunately, the club has missed out on £millions over the last decade damaging the team's chances as ME has not invested in replacing lost talent and goals. There is overwhelming proof of this mantra when ME sold Waghorn, Garner & Webster last year - he hasn't replaced them has he? Instead he went for the cheaper option and it will now cost the club dearly. I agree that MM did not want to lose McGoldrick but he simply wasn't the same player after the rejected Leicester bid. Just look at DM now - scoring goals and I'd bet he is a much happier footballer living closer to his family.

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Dissboyitfc added 07:26 - Mar 20 If Dids had wanted to go to Leicester MM would have let him go, MM had said when sold Murphy that he would not stand in a players way if he wanted out. The truth is Dids left in May and Hurst started in June, its not rocket science, he could not find a club and Hurst didnt fancy resigning him, which when you consider his injury record i dont blame him. There is lots to blame Evans and Hurst for, this is not one of them. Towards the end he was a sick note on a big wage and was too comfortable, he had come to the end of his time at Portman Road! One more thing! how many fans would have been happy if we had extended his deal and he was sat on the bench or out injured? i would say no one! Hindsight is a wonderful thing! and i am not sure had he stayed he would have been the player he is at Sheffield.

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blueherts added 09:42 - Mar 20 Championship Jack Marriott 7 in 28 Martyn Waghorn 4 in 21 Joe Garner 4 in 21 Let us just move on and focus on US and the future and not dwell on the past We have been sliding for years so lets rebuild - we have some great young players and look forward to next season - no point bleating about the past
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beornioblue added 09:54 - Mar 20 Very honest interview, Sheff UTD are getting the best out of Didz because they're simply usinghim as a striker in and around the box which is his absolute best position. Not stuck out wide collecting high pumped balls from the back to then use the pace he hasnt got to try and score. Its not hard to see why he was injured and not as effectual as he should have been and is proving to be for SHU. You can blame MM and PH for this one. But its in the past and this Football club needs to be looking squarely at the future now!!!

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drewcudders1963 added 10:24 - Mar 20 In hindsight perhaps you should have stayed, but I'm certain most "proper" town fans thought it was time to part company in view of the injury record over the previous 2+ seasons.... shame as on his day Didzy was excellent....
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rugbytomc added 10:41 - Mar 20 McCarthy himself came out and said a lot of McGoldricks injury problems were because he wouldn't relocate from Notts and he was sat in a car travelling for hours each day which wasn't good for his hamstrings and general body health. Sheffield is a lot closer to Nottingham than Ipswich is so no wonder he's stayed fitter. Shame he didn't relocate down here, he was excellent when he played - worth every penny

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BlueSwede added 11:44 - Mar 20 I will never ever forgive Paul Hurst for what he did to our club. Never.
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blueherts added 13:24 - Mar 20 BlueSwede - our club has been on the slide for afew years now - Yes he proved a bad appointment but we would still be scrapping around the bottom few places . We have needed a drastic overhaul for some time and this is the opportunity Future is bright
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