IPSWICH Town’s Chief Executive, Simon Clegg, would love to have Jimmy Bullard signed up for next season.

IPSWICH Town’s Chief Executive, Simon Clegg, would love to have Jimmy Bullard signed up for next season.

Clegg was involved in a three-way, five-hour meeting with club owner Marcus Evans and manager Paul Jewell in Dublin last week, to discuss the strategy for moving the club forward into next season.

The recruitment of new players, and the offer of new deals for some of the 21 players out-of-contact this summer, topped the agenda.

Bullard, on loan from Hull City, has made a big impact since his arrival at the end of January, and despite his hefty wages and his remaining two years on his contract at the KC Stadium, Clegg intimated that he would like to secure the services of the 32-year-old beyond this season.

“I think that Jimmy (Bullard) has made a huge contribution since he arrived at the club, both on the pitch and off it,” enthused Clegg.

“He has had a big impact in the dressing room, and he is also fantastic with some of our corporate guests.

“He is a pleasure to have around the place, and let’s see where we get to over the next couple of months.

“I am absolutely not ruling it out” added Clegg, with regards to the possibility of signing Bullard this summer.

Referring to last week’s three-pronged meeting in Dublin, Clegg explained: “We discussed the plans for next season. We talked about the sort of money that would be available for the players that we want to bring in, and those players out of contract who we want to keep.

“Those discussions are in the process of being started now.

“The owner will want to support the new manager in the same way that he supported the old manager,” added Clegg.

Evans certainly gave ex-boss Roy Keane the funds to bolster his squad in the early days.