RELEASED by Mick McCarthy, two Suffolk-born boys are determined to prove this summer that there is life after Ipswich Town.
Defenders Joe Whight, 19, and Jack Ainsley, 22 were shown the door at the end of this season but are desperate to remain in the Football League.
The duo played on loan at Blue Square Bet South side Chelmsford City towards the end of the campaign, with Ainsley featuring in both legs of the Clarets’ play-off semi-final defeat to Salisbury City.
Felixstowe-born Ainsley made one start for Town this season, the 2-2 home draw with Huddersfield, while Ipswich-born teenager Whight was unable to make the breakthrough at Portman Road.
Ainsley was on trial at League One outfit Preston earlier this campaign and was being closely monitored by the Lilywhites until boss Graham Westley was sacked, while Whight was on the radar of Arsenal and Newcastle as a 17-year-old.
The pair, who have both credited Town reserve-team boss Mark Kennedy for having a great influence on their career, joined Gunnar Thorsteinsson, Cormac Burke and Ronan Murray in not being retained by McCarthy.
Murray spent the second half of this season aiding Plymouth’s League Two survival mission, scoring one goal in 13 games, while Burke has played for Town’s under-21s team and made his only senior appearance in the League Cup victory against Bristol Rovers, in August.
Thorsteinsson has linked up with former Blues defender Hermann Hreidarsson and ex-England goalkeeper David James at Icelandic club IBV.
For interviews with both players, see today’s East Anglian Daily Times
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