Millwall outcast Richard Chaplow wants to repay Mick McCarthy after the Ipswich Town boss rescued the midfielder from his Den despair.

The midfielder was snapped up on a season-long loan recently after falling out-of-favour with the Lions, and made his debut as a substitute in the recent 4-2 win over Birmingham.

Chaplow, 30, then started the 2-0 loss at Norwich, before being an unused sub in Wednesday’s defeat at Leeds.

The sideline became a familiar place for Chaplow at Millwall, the ex-Preston man, who is out of contract in the summer, making just six starts this season for the London club.

However, asked if he was surprised to be given a chance by McCarthy, Chaplow said: “Yes and no. Yes a little bit, given the position Millwall are in and the fact that I was not in the team there.

“That was for various reasons though and it wasn’t performance-related in my eyes.

“Millwall as a club and myself as a player didn’t see eye-to-eye going forward but I wasn’t pushing to leave and I wanted to prove my worth. I wasn’t given the opportunity to do that though and it didn’t appear that I would.

“But I’ve had a good career and played in the Premier League with Southampton and West Brom, so I bring experience in that respect.

“Mick (McCarthy) has seen a lot of me over the years and knows what I’m like as a player. Sometimes, when the chips are down, that can help you.

“Hopefully I can make a contribution towards where we want to be.”

Town have slipped out of the play-off places and host Brentford, the team who replaced them there, tomorrow. The Blues could move back up to fifth if results go their way, while three points, a Bournemouth loss and a 15-goal swing would replace the Cherries in fourth.

“It’s an important part of the season, coming off two losses, but if it doesn’t go our way on Saturday, we still have plenty of games to go,” Chaplow added.