Jewell to keep Ward in mind

Joel Ward: Staying at Portsmouth for now but Paul Jewell will keep following his progress

Ipswich boss Paul Jewell has admitted that he could rekindle his interest in Portsmouth's Joel Ward in the summer.

Jewell confirmed earlier this week that he was discussing a possible deal with a Pompey player, but he was unable to secure Ward's services before the emergency loan deadline on Thursday.

Ward is now set to stay and fight with the South Coast club, but Jewell will keep him in his thoughts ahead of a possible swoop at the end of the season.

The manager believes he might have landed Ward had it not been for Portsmouth's 4-1 victory over Birmingham on Tuesday that boosted their chances of avoiding the drop.

"We spoke with Joel on Sunday and the agent said that if Portsmouth got a result on Tuesday, they would probably keep the squad in the hope of getting out of trouble," Jewell explained in the East Anglian Daily Times.

"That is something we might look at long-term for next season."

Exceptional

Jewell also praised his Ipswich players for performing so well in recent weeks that he did not feel the need to frantically look for signings in the loan window.

He said:" If we were struggling, we would have made signings - there is no doubt about that. But luckily enough we have picked up and we are not going to get embroiled in a relegation fight.

"The lads who are in the team, and the squad, have done exceptionally well and at the moment I don't see the need to bring in a couple of players for short-term.

"We are always looking in the long-term though."