There’s a very good reason why Jonny Williams is back at Town — he believes he has played the best football of his career at Portman Road.

Welsh international Williams, who is well known to supporters after three previous loan spells with the club, has joined from Crystal Palace for a fourth temporary stint through to the end of the current campaign.

The midfielder said: “I think I have played the best football of my career under Mick McCarthy, especially my first loan spell when I was playing regularly and getting in 80 to 90 minutes every game.

“It helped that I was playing with a good bunch of lads, scoring, assisting, enjoying my football and being around the top of the league. It’s mainly been down to Mick giving me the confidence and letting me express myself on match days.”

Looking out over the playing surface where he has turned in some memorable displays. Williams added: “I’ve already spoken to a couple of the lads — Chambo, who has been here every time I’ve been here, and Freddie.

“Plus I know Tom Lawrence, who has also joined on loan, from being alongside him in the Welsh squad and I just can’t wait to get fit and get started.

“The core of the side is still here. The likes of Chambo and Christophe Berra are strong characters and every team needs people like that, people who play week in, week out, and are good lads in the dressing room too.

“There are plenty of players here who like to play good football and that’s only going to help me. It’s a shame Murph has gone because I really enjoyed playing with him when I was here before but with the likes of Freddie and Leon [Best], who has just signed, I’m excited to be part of it again.

“From what I’ve seen of Daryl, plus what I learned from playing alongside him, he deserves his chance with a club like Newcastle.

“He’s been top-class for a few seasons now and I wasn’t surprised when I saw that Newcastle had come sniffing for him. I really hope he does well there.”

Williams’s immediate priority is to regain full fitness after he picked up an ankle injury in a pre-season game for Palace and it could be October before Town fans are able to welcome him back properly.

He said: “It’s three weeks or so since I picked up the injury and I’ve just started to run outside again. I want to be fit and have some game time before the next international break in October, whether that’s an U21 game or a first team game.

“Let’s see what the physios say and hopefully they will get me back in the quickest possible time.”

Photo: ITFC

Matthew_Crush added 06:04 - Sep 1 Welcome Jonny and hopefully you continue your good form with us , Williams , Ward , Lawrence , Conor Grant , Adam Webster and Leon best . I think we done well close season and end of transfer window , I know we will be up there again this season so lets just hope we can finish the job off this time !!!!!!!! ,, COYB ..........!!!!!!!!!!!
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Matthew_Crush added 06:28 - Sep 1 And can I use this time and space to say , Leon Best will smash it for us , believe me when I say this , his probably our best striker now !! ., time will tell ,, just wait and see , he will be the top goal scoring striker for us this season
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battyblue added 07:17 - Sep 1 Nice one Jonny we know you have the ability but Macgoldrick mk2 .
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hoppy added 07:43 - Sep 1 Welcome back Johnny... You may have played your best football for Town, but hope you can stay injury free once you've got this one out of the way and find your best is yet to come, and we'll get to see it once you're fit.
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hoppy added 07:45 - Sep 1 Oh, and in case you didn't realise, after 4 loan spells here, you realise you do have to sign permanently - it's a bit like Hotel California... You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave... Once a blue...
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Bergholtblue added 08:11 - Sep 1 Is it me or does he look a lot older than 22 in that photo? Welcome back, now get fit and stay fit and you'll be a great asset once again.
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blueherts added 08:19 - Sep 1 Ewwww - when I first looked at that pic it made me think of a young Clegg ! Welcome back to the Always a Blue Jonny
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cornishblu added 09:21 - Sep 1 "Top Class"....... That's why we signed him ...he speaks the MM lingo !! COYB
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karls_dad added 09:33 - Sep 1 I had to take a double look at his picture! he seems to have aged an awful lot! looks about 35 there, maybe the receding hairline and a need of a haircut Big time!
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Ferguson added 09:43 - Sep 1 As I said yesterday, welcome home son. Interesting to hear from a player about the positive side to MickMac. Building confidence. Encouraging players to express themselves on the pitch. Real positives. . Makes you realise that those bad performances, those boring games, those points dropped and games lost are down to how the players do the business on the pitch. It's not the manager. Even Sir Bobby's best side let him down sometimes. Lets hope for good times ahead and great performances from all our new signings.

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PortmanTerrorist added 09:48 - Sep 1 Hey Mick, creating a rod for your own back here. Bringing in the players we have (at virtually no cost of course) and with Murphy leaving, hoofball will not only constituent to dismay the fans, but also likely prove unworkable with the new personnel. More expressive football on the deck to come then.........or is there ? Watch this space ! Welcome back Jonny, stay fit, get us promoted and sign permanent - best hatrick you could ever wish for. Do it ! :-)

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Seasider added 10:15 - Sep 1 Really comes over as a lovely guy,who the fans,including me really like;and who has the ability to turn games. Lets hope he manages to get fit as anticipated;but as we now have several' footballers' in the side,if one is injured,now have the personnel to cover (I hope) I cannot imagine that with the players Mick has signed,we will still have to endure the sterile football that has predominated previously;so I think he has done well in this window;despite failing at the last minute to replace Murph. Will be interested to see how Pitts and Leon Best perform,as it may not be necessary to replace him.We shall know by the end of the year. COYB

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RaymondovicBlue added 11:25 - Sep 1 Hey - nothing wrong with a receding hairline my friends .... well, that's what I told myself many years ago. I've No need to worry anymore ... It can't go any further back !!!! Seriously - we have signed some good talent, and our bench will now look as good as our starting 11 injuries permitting. Also Didz will not need rushing back but can get totally fit before he is risked again (if he ever can....) But we've also signed lots of ball playing (and SHOOTING) midfield players to add to those we have home grown ... Defences will fear that they need to be awake and on their guard every time any of our FRONT FIVE get the ball. I don't say that, becasue I think we will play with that many out and out strikers - as Mick did last year when ever he was chasing a game. No, I say it because I just cannot believe that we will play two outright defensive midfielders every game ... the signs have been good with the 4-3-3 we have been using ... and even when Skuse and Douglas HAVE both played together , Douggie has been a lot further forward, and has already scored a good (disallowed wrongly) goal for his efforts. SURELY with the other guys coming in to fill his boots (he'll be on the bench most games for me) we will be this years AFC Bournemouth with our style of play ??? If not ... buy me (and Jonny) a hair piece so we can be in disguise until a future manager arrives. I trust Mick, and I THINK what he is intending to do has been made clear from his signings and current style of play. It also will bring the best out of Pittman and Sears (and probably Best from what others have said ... I don't know him well enough) COYB. Our year? Let's hope so.

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deano85 added 11:37 - Sep 1 He looks like MM in that pic...
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ntoms97 added 11:39 - Sep 1 Make it permanent next time!
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SouperJim added 12:31 - Sep 1 Great post RaymondovicBlue! There has been much criticism of our style of play over the last couple of years, not all of it entirely balanced. There have been signs for some time that Mick is trying to get us to play a more attractive brand of football and yet people are now whinging that we haven't "properly" replaced our target man and have instead brought in several creative players. Seems Mick is damned either way?

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JimmyP45 added 12:35 - Sep 1 Bart Chambers, Webster, Berra, Knudsen, Grant, Skuse, Ward, Williams, Lawrence or Sears Best or Pitman Play football on the ground and this team will be pushing for playoffs come end of the season for sure.
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greenkingtone added 12:43 - Sep 1 Welcome back Jonny, from a fellow Taff.
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