IVAR Ingimarsson hasn’t put himself forward to be Ipswich Town skipper.

The Icelandic centre-back has been heavily touted to take on the armband vacated by Gareth McAuley ever since Paul Jewell snapped him up on a free transfer last month.

The soon-to-be 34-year-old has captained Reading numerous times over the past two seasons and has experienced promotion to the Premier League.

However, with this – by his own admission – potentially being the last season of his career, Ingimarsson insists that playing games is his sole focus.

“I’ve not put myself forward to be captain,” said the Icelander, who first came over to England in 1999 to play for Torquay United.

“My main ambition and focus is just to play. Being captain at Reading was an honour, but I don’t want to be one of these ‘club captains’ that isn’t in the team.”

Ingimarsson joins Ipswich after becoming a fans’ favourite at Reading over an eight-season stint. He was released by the club this summer after the Royals lost in the Championship play-off final.

The fact that the defender missed the first half of the campaign with a serious hamstring injury probably played its part in manager Brian McDermott’s decision. However, the defender says he is fully fit and raring to go.

“When I came back from that long injury last season I played really well,” he said. “I played 13 Championship games in a row and during that time the team went from about 11th to fifth in the table.

“Suddenly I found myself back in the stands though and it was at that time I realised it might be time to move on.”

He added: “I’ve only ever had two big injuries in my career, it just so happened that one of them came last season. I feel really good and can’t wait to get going again.”

Such was Jewell’s desire to add Ingimarsson to his ranks that he arranged to meet the defender in Spain while the two were holidaying there last month, something that greatly impressed the Icelander.

He said: “The manager told me about his ambitions for the club and they really seemed to match mine.

“I had a fantastic eight years at Reading both personally and professionally. It is a time I will always remember and it is a bit sad that it’s come to an end, but people move on in football and I am now completely focused on being an Ipswich player.

“The manager is looking to bring in more new faces and these are exciting times for the club.”