Andy Marshall believes Elliott Bennett would face a 'baptism of fire' if the former Norwich City winger follows in his notorious footsteps and joins Ipswich Town.

Speaking after the Blues' 1-0 pre-season defeat at Barnet, Town boss Mick McCarthy was asked about reports linking him with signing Bennett from Blackburn.

He would only say that the 27-year-old was a player 'he likes', having previously managed him at Wolves. It would be viewed as a controversial switch by some, given that Bennett made 77 appearances for City between 2011 and 2016.

Marshall was the last player to make the move from Norwich to Ipswich – and never really won over the Portman Road faithful. Now the keeper coach at Aston Villa, he said: 'When you make that sort of move you really have to do something incredible on a consistent basis to win people over. The second something goes wrong for you personally, or for the team, then you become a target for the fans.

'I get the passion and the rivalry, I really do, but that negativity didn't help me or the team. I felt people were waiting for any excuse to get on my back. If Elliott does make the move then he should be ready for a baptism of fire.'

Joe Royle is another of only a handful of players and managers who have had a foot in both camps, playing 42 times for the Canaries and becoming Blues boss in 2002.

'There was that little bit of doubt,' Royle admitted. 'A few bad results sees you labelled some kind of double agent, but I soon found out that if the results are right then that quickly gets forgotten.'