Ryan Stevenson has lapped up his first taste of senior action at Ipswich and is hungry for more. Substitute appearances in the 3-0 home defeat of Bristol City last Saturday and the midweek 1-1 draw at Championship leaders Southampton have whetted the appetite of the 27-year-old Scot.

Stevenson, who cost £50,000 from Hearts just before the closure of the January transfer window, admitted he had been anxious to get involved from day one.

He said: “I had been chomping at the bit since I came to the club but the boys have been on a fantastic run and done really well.

“It’s a double-edged sword for me. I want the boys to do well but the better they do the harder it is going to be for me to force my way into the side.

“All I can do is keep my head down and try to force my way in. I’ve got to try to impress the manager enough to fit into his plans and then see where we go from there.”

His two appearances represent just 20 minutes of first team action so far but Stevenson sees it as a major breakthrough.

He added: “I went through a tough couple of months where I didn’t play at Hearts and I want to try to make up for lost time.

“I’ve got to put in the effort in training. It’s all about trying to show the manager every single day that I deserve to be here and trying to force my way into his plans.

“I’m anxious to play. The way I see it, if I miss a game it’s a game that is lost for ever. I believe I am very fortunate to be a footballer, doing something that I love every day, and I want to play as many games as I can.

“I always work as hard as I possibly can to get in the team. We have top-quality players here but that was one of the reasons I wanted to come here — to give myself a challenge against really good players in a really good league. You can be sure I’ll give it my best shot.”

Photo: Action Images

Hermann_eats_puffin added 13:35 - Mar 9 Well done Ryan for the effort you've put in during your substitue appearances so far! Keep doing what you're doing and I'm sure that we'll see more of you.
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bawsedog added 13:55 - Mar 9 Quality player, really pleased we've got him and seems to have a good attitude. Good signing!
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Warkys_Tash added 14:09 - Mar 9 Listening to his words, he sounds very passionate and up for playing in the shirt - somehting that you don't see and hear enough of these days. Lets hope he becomes a real 'Town' player and a good one at that..the new 'Simon Milton' please!
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SouperJim added 14:18 - Mar 9 I agree, this guy seems really positive, I've got a great feeling about him.
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bontcho added 14:26 - Mar 9 Hoping our place in the league will be safe soon so we can give players like Ryan a game or two to get him bedded in for next season. Others i'd like to see give opportunities are Carson, Whight, Ellington and Ainsley. Think we should be rotating to have a look at players, different formations and ideas.
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Tractorog added 14:34 - Mar 9 Be fair guys. We've only just recovered from a horrendous run of form when almost everyone was calling for PJ to be sacked... you can't expect him to tinker too much with a winning formula.
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Garv added 14:43 - Mar 9 "I believe I am very fortunate to be a footballer, doing something that I love every day, and I want to play as many games as I can." You rarely hear this from footballers so its nice to see.
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homer_123 added 14:44 - Mar 9 Will this guy ever shut up.
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jas0999 added 15:06 - Mar 9 I would play him, otherwise was pointless signing him. Bowyer and Bullard are has beens, Leadbitter is likely to leave. Having said that, PJ's treatment of Hyam has been nothing short of abysmal.
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stinkiusminkius added 15:30 - Mar 9 Jas0999 JUST SHUT UP!!!!! Or leave.
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rikksow added 15:59 - Mar 9 I think we have signed a couple of real gems on the cheap. Ryan Stevenson & Andy Drury. Just goes to show you can still buy quality for little money. Well done PJ.
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Garv added 16:18 - Mar 9 So glad Jas isn't manager. So if he doesn't play this weekend he was a pointless signing. Right.
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Taricco_Fan added 16:22 - Mar 9 @ jas - If Bullard and Bowyer are has-beens (I agree) and Leadbitter is likely to leave (I hope), then why is the signing of Stevenson pointless? As he said himself, he's not going to slot straight into a team on a good run so he's got to fight for his place. I'm confident that at 50k, Stevenson will prove to be an absolute steal and a good asset for the club. We need all the young, hungry players we can get and if my Hearts supporting mate in Edinburgh is anything to go by, we've picked up a quality player for next to nothing.

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TractorTrog added 16:37 - Mar 9 Just what the Doctor ordered i say...I read in the EDAT today a piece on him and he just sounds so loyal and true and really wants to play for us he said " every game I dont play is a game gone in my career and I can never get that back .... now how fantastic is that !!!! Glad weve got him imagine what his like in the dressing room all psyched up and rearing to go ... along with Jimmy keeping the smile on everyones face I really am loving this team already!!!

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sereneblue added 18:55 - Mar 9 He wants to play for the badge Unlike Collins.
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buryblue77 added 19:46 - Mar 9 Saw him come on against Bristol C, he looked the part but that was ten minutes or so. Hopefully he'll turn out to be a steal at £50k and it could have been worse had we not picked up bargains like Stevenson and managed to waste money overrated players like Andrews!
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bedsitfc added 19:54 - Mar 9 what a great attitude from a player i thought would be a bad egg as he went on strike up at hearts. i cant be more happy about being wrong. i think he will be regular starter next season.
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s6blue added 12:16 - Mar 13
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