Albion loan signing Stephen Ward says it was flattering to be linked with today’s opponents Ipswich Town.

Town chief Mick McCarthy was interested in a reunion with the Irish defender he had at Wolves as a possible replacement for left-back star Aaron Cresswell.

But the Seagulls snapped up Ward from Wolves for the rest of the season in mid-August to fill the hole left by Wayne Bridge’s move to Reading.

Ward told The Argus: “The Ipswich left-back is a young lad who has been linked with a lot of clubs. It was nice to get linked to work with a manager like that again. It wasn’t to be, but it was flattering.”

Ward is enjoying a new lease of life with Albion following relegation from the Premier League and Championship with Wolves in successive seasons. The Seagulls are unbeaten in the six matches he has played in.

He said: “Being in the Premier League at Wolves was tough. It’s obviously very difficult, you can easily go on a run without winning games, and last year it was 50-50. We’d win one, lose one, and then we had a bad spell at the end of the season.

“Going from the heights and success we had to where we were last year was a real low, so to come here has been like a breath of fresh air.”