Ipswich defender Tony Mowbray thought he was being put out to grass when George Burley called him into his office at the end of last season.

The old warhorse, a veteran of more than 500 appearances for Middlesbrough, Glasgow Celtic and Town, believed his days on the pitch were numbered when he got the call from the boss.

The soul-destroying play-off defeat against Bolton meant Burley had to plan for the future and it looked as though Mowbray, 36, was going to be one of the First victims.

Not that he hadn't planned for the day when he finally had to hang up his boots.

He spent much of last season attending coaching seminars in order to gain the highly-coveted UEFA B coaching licence and his dedication and endeavour was rewarded by Burley with the offer of a coaching role at the club.

Mowbray began the season alongside Burley on the touchline as Town forged ahead to lead the First Division.

But the promotion express showed signs of coming off the rails after home defeats against Birmingham City and QPR and the SOS was sent out before the game against Charlton in mid October.

"The gaffer asked me to come in and steady the ship," recalled Mowbray, "but within about ten minutes of the match starting we had conceded two goals and were in a lot of trouble."

Town recovered to win 4-2 and they haven't looked back. The impact he has had on the side has been enough to see Ipswich re-establish themselves as genuine promotion candidates and also prolong his playing career.

"Perhaps I've added that bit of experience to the side at vital times," he said coyly. "Young players don't always know how to handle situations and it's something you learn to deal with as you get older.

"It's been great for me to come back into the side and it means I can carry on doing something which I still get as excited about as when I first played for Middlesbrough in the early 80s."

But the warrior knows his days in the first team are limited but he admitted to hoping for one last crack at the Premiership.

"Look at Richard Gough and Dave Watson at Everton," he ventured. "They are slightly older than me and they are still playing at the very highest level.

"It gives you a bit of incentive when you see people like that still playing and I would like to think I might get the odd run out if Ipswich do go up."

But the vision for next season sees the likes of Titus Bramble or Wayne Brown replacing him at the heart of the Town defence and leaving Mowbray free to concentrate on his responsibilties as a coach.

"I get as much satisfaction watching the players achieving things on the pitch as I do when I'm playing," he added.

"When we were on that fantastic run at the start of the season it was a great feeling to know that in some small way you were a part of that. I'm under no illusion about how long I can go on playing which is why I am putting so much effort into my new role."

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