HE could have spent part of his summer banged up behind bars – if scurrilous and false rumours had been true.

Now Jimmy Bullard is looking to serve up some hard time on the rest of the Championship and prove he can be the Town talisman that fans crave.

He will look to get his football career back on track during the two-game tour of the Netherlands next week after his name was again linked with off-the-pitch problems.

Town boss Paul Jewell revealed: “Simon Clegg took a phone call saying Jimmy had been arrested in Marbella but when we rang him straight away he was fishing. There is always a supposed story with Jimmy.”

While able to smile about the incident now, Jewell – and Town fans alike – are getting more than a little fed up of Bullard being linked with high-jinxes.

With finances restricting Jewell’s activity in the summer transfer market, a renaissance of the 32-year-old central midfielder would be like signing a new and instrumental player.

Bullard made just 12 starts last season, a further nine from the bench, in a campaign that started well but soon drifted off as the midfielder struggled for form and fitness before he was suspended for two weeks after turning up for training late following two successive nights-out in Newcastle.

After he was linked with an audacious move to China in the summer, Bullard is back and will be looking to impress in the pre-season friendlies, starting next week with the two quick-fire games against Helmond Sport and Den Bosch in Holland.

Jewell said: “Every player was given an individual programme to do before pre-season training and Jimmy was no different. The one thing Jimmy doesn’t lack for is fitness – he is in good condition.”