Davis: I'm Loving It Down Here Thursday, 15th Sep 2022 17:43 Geordie-born Leif Davis has been at home at Ipswich since day one and believes he is becoming a better player with every game he plays. It’s seven league appearances — all starts — and counting for the enterprising left wing-back, who was signed from Leeds for around £1 million on the eve of the current campaign and made his debut just days later in the first game of the new season, the 1-1 home draw with Bolton. Looking forward to Saturday’s trip to face Sheffield Wednesday in what promises to be Town’s toughest test of the season so far and which is followed by games against Plymouth and Portsmouth, Davis said: “All we can do is take it game by game and we are only focused on Saturday at Sheffield Wednesday, which we know will be tough. “We’ll look at the others in due course but all the preparation we’ve been doing is obviously on the one at Hillsborough. “I’m delighted with the way things are going for me and the other players. Personally, I feel I’m growing into the position, getting a bit better with every game I play and stepping up a level to help the team. “It’s a bit hard moving so far away from home but it’s my job and to be fair I’m absolutely loving it down here. “The first time I came here was soon after I came back from a pre-season trip to Australia with Leeds and I couldn’t believe how quickly I settled in. That same day I was feeling part of things, the way the boys welcomed me on board, and I’m really happy here. “It’s a very good changing room with some lively characters and you can talk to anyone. There are no big-time players here — there are plenty of top-quality players but no one who thinks he’s above the rest. We all have our feet planted firmly on the ground and get on well with each other.” Davis revealed his delight that his transfer to Town was eventually completed after weeks of speculation. He said: “My agent was speaking to Ipswich and I was just concentrating on my game. I was speaking to the manager at Leeds to see where his head was at. “I told him my thoughts, that I felt I needed to be playing games on a more regular basis, and when I met the Ipswich manager over the summer, I was really happy with what he had to say and what his expectations were for me here. “I was so happy when it got to the stage of me coming to Ipswich. I came down when I got straight off the plane from Australia and I just wanted to get everything done and sign.” Asked if he had any reservations about leaving the Premier League for League One, he added: “Not one bit. This club is going in the right direction. We want to be a Championship team and then push to get into the Premier. “Everything about the club is big — the stadium, the crowds, the ambition — and if we go up this season we’ll be looking to push on from there.” Town were happy to fork out a sizeable fee by League One standards for the player, who said: “I didn’t know anything about how much they were paying for me and to be honest I’m not interested in what it was. I just felt good about being wanted by the manager here, which is what every player wants.” On the subject of working with Town boss Kieran McKenna, who has only suffered five defeats in his 34 games in charge over the past nine months, Davis was enthusiastic with his response. “It has been very, very good,” he said. “He’s a manager who wants to get the best out of his players and is very good at doing it. “He has helped me so much on areas of the game I needed to work on and he has even made me better in areas of the game where I felt comfortable. “It’s just what I needed and he’s even pushing me to do extra work after training, which I know is working from my performances so far and the way I’m getter better with each game. Asked to compare McKenna with Bielsa, Davis added: “They are different men at different stages of their careers but they are two of a kind in terms of the intensity they demand in training. “The gaffer here is very approachable — you can talk to him whenever you want — but with Bielsa I sometimes wondered if I could speak to him, although I definitely learned a lot from him as well. They are both very, very good managers.” While satisfied with his progress so far, Davis is adamant there is more to come. “One hundred per cent there is,” he said. “I want to keep improving and getting better as a person, as well as a player, which I feel will happen while I’m at Ipswich. “It’s about training well, getting better and better as a player, and I’m sure I am in the right place to make that happen.” He welcomes the pressure for a place in the starting line-up from fellow new boy Greg Leigh, adding: “Greg’s an unbelievable player. We always push each other hard in training but we also help each other out, like with things where we might be better than each other. “We’re always talking to each other about the games as well and I’ve definitely got a good bond with him. “It keeps you on your toes having someone like Greg looking for his chance. You’ve got to think you can’t afford to switch off because if you do you never know what’s going to happen. “Greg wouldn’t be at the club if he wasn’t good enough to play in the team and that’s why he is coming on in games. Also, he makes an impact when he comes on and I’m happy for him and all the lads we have here.” Does the new five-subs rule change his approach to games? Does knowing there is a good chance he could be replaced for the last 20 or 30 minutes of a game cause him to put extra effort into the time he is on the pitch? “Not at all,” he said. “It’s up to the manager — it’s his decision if he’s going to bring you off and bring someone else on. Even if you are playing well, he could still take you off because it’s about keeping everyone ticking over. “We are all doing well in training and the subs who come on don’t let the game drop. If anything, they push the team on even more, which I think you can see, that we’re still going for it right to the end. “When I’m playing, I just try to keep focused and work hard for every second I’m on the pitch. I could say I feel fresher because I’m only playing 60 or 70 minutes but I actually feel fitter and stronger if I’m playing 90-plus minutes. You can lose fitness my playing fewer minutes but as a squad I think we’re all fit and strong.” Casting his mind back to his childhood, Davis was a huge fan of Brazilian left-back Marcelo, who starred for Real Madrid for several years. “He was the main man for me,” Davis said. “I was amazed at some of the things he did, touch-wise, and used to wonder how it was even possible to do stuff like that. These days the player I admire above all others is Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich — he’s scarily good.” Davis also recalled having a chat with his father about joining Ipswich, adding: “Dad started telling me about Ipswich and the first name he mentioned was Bobby Robson. He said they should have a statue of him down there — and he was right about that. “I know about players like Kieron Dyer coming to Newcastle from Ipswich. I remember him having a fight on the pitch on the pitch with his own team-mate, Lee Bowyer, and that’s my top memory of him.”
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