Tristan Nydam admits he got off lightly when facing Ipswich Town’s wheel of misfortune recently.

The 17-year-old has revealed the light-hearted punishment selection process that academy players regularly have to face in order to maintain discipline up at Playford Road.

A national journalist was recently interviewing Blues boss Mick McCarthy in his office when there was a knock on the door. It was Nydam bringing in a hot drink for ‘the gaffer’.

“The Under-18s have this thing where they do a spin of the wheel if they do something wrong,” explained Nydam, smiling.

“And because I made one of the Under-18s late that day I had to do the spin of the wheel for them.

“Basically, the Under-18s had to be in for nine and I was driving one of the boys in who lives in digs with me. Unfortunately I woke up at quarter to nine!

“My spin landed on ‘make all staff members a cup of tea or coffee’, so that’s why I was bringing the gaffer a cup of coffee that day.

“He sent me back to make it again because it wasn’t strong enough, but I still got off lightly.”

Asked what the other options on the wheel are, he replied: “Buy some biscuits for the staff, a five pounds fine, do an extra session with fitness coach Andy Liddell in the morning...

“I think the worst one is where you have to write a poem for the lads!”

Nydam, along with fellow teenagers Flynn Downes and Andre Dozzell, were both given their own permanent peg in the first team dressing room recently, following in the footsteps of previous academy graduates Teddy Bishop, Josh Emmanuel and Myles Kenlock.

“Chambo (skipper Luke Chambers) came and told me I was getting one, but I didn’t think he’d go through with it,” laughed the Zimbabwe-born, England Under-19 international Nydam, who has made five senior starts and four substitute appearances already this season.

“The younger boys still clean the boots here. I had to clean the gaffer’s boots last year.

“I don’t do that anymore, that’s only Under-18s and below, but this week the younger boys lost the game of head tennis so I had to clean Waggy’s (Martyn Waghorn) because of that.”