Centre-half Cameron Burgess says the table-topping Blues are facing - and overcoming - different challenges on a weekly basis in the Championship rather than coming up against opposition with a similar approach game after game as was the case in League One last season.

Town made it three wins out of three since returning to the second tier by beating QPR 1-0 at Loftus Road yesterday, the Blues’ first victory on Rangers turf since February 2010.

Kieran McKenna’s men won 2-1 at Sunderland on the opening day, then beat Stoke City 2-0 at Portman Road a week ago with the team finding a different way of winning each match.

“We’ve just been saying that out on the pitch. That’s really been the biggest factor, to be fair,” Burgess said.

“Different teams are going to bring different challenges, it’s not samey, samey as it seemed to be in League One at times.

“Different teams bring different challenges, so it’s up to us to stand up to that and it was another one of those today, and it’s pleasing to say we completed it.”

Town started positively and might have gone ahead when Wes Burns headed wide from a corner before the home side got a foothold in the game and had opportunities, most notably Sinclair Armstrong’s shot which struck both posts with video evidence confirming keeper Vaclav Hladky’s fingertips had diverted the ball onto the woodwork.

“I guess so,” the former Australian U23 international said. “I think that’s something that they bring, they bring a threat on big moments and counter-attacks and things like that.

“They’ll cause teams the same problems throughout the season, so it’s pleasing to say we stood up to that when we needed to.

“It was about at half-time taking a breather and just realising that we knew we could step it up a gear and I think that was thing that changed the second half and put it more in our favour.”

Was it a case of being more composed and less erratic after the break? “We’re always going to be a team that is brave on the ball at times, we have to risk the ball to be that type of team. It’s not always going to pay off, you can’t play every game perfectly.

“It’s never from a lack of effort or not trying to do the right things. It was just a case of sticking to what we do, it’ll fall for us, just that 10 per cent more in every department really, just a little bit of oomph to get back to what we do, and it worked in the second half.”

Chaplin’s goal was his first of the season, the forward having hit the bar at Sunderland and then eight shots against Stoke.

“You create your own luck, I suppose,” Burgess reflected. “He’s someone we know that when he gets a chance he’s going to take one. If he can get a couple in the game you fancy him and I know he fancies himself.

“It’s something that’s become a part of us in the last year, so it’s good to see him get off the mark and hopefully that’s the floodgates opening.”

Burgess wasn’t too far away from his first goal of the season with a flicked header from a corner in the second half.

“I guess so, hopefully one falls soon,” he said. “We work on set pieces, we work on everything really, so hopefully one falls soon.”

Manager McKenna said last week after Luke Woolfenden netted against Stoke that he wants to see more goals from his centre-halves and Burgess says he wants to play his part on that front.

“Definitely, we all do,” he said. “Everyone wants to be in amongst the goals, it’s a nice feeling, isn’t it? Also it helps the team to get wins and set pieces are a big chance to score goals.”

At the other end, Burgess and his defensive teammates recorded their second clean sheet in three Championship games, their third overall including the 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Bristol Rovers.

“It’s a whole team effort,” the 27-year-old insisted. “It’s early days in the season and if we can keep doing that, if we can keep a clean sheet, the boys at the top end only have to score one goal to win the game.

“And that was what it was today. If at our end we can keep it to zero, then it’s probably only going to be one goal that wins the game. It just seemed to fall that way, it was going to be either one of the two teams.

“Pleased to say it was us and another clean sheet, so it’s pleasing for us at the back as well as the whole team.”

How has he found moving up a level from a defensive perspective? “It’s a big step up, but something we’ve been well versed on and something we’ve been well prepared for, so there’s not any excuses. It’s up to us to stand up to the challenge and hopefully we can continue to do that.”

Burgess says no one at Portman Road us getting carried away with the Blues hitting the top of the early-season table.

Asked how they block out the growing noise from outside, he said: “Just the same as we did last season, I suppose, it’s about us and what we do.

“It’s just the start, isn’t it? It’s a long old season, there’s a long way to go and you can’t really be looking too much into that at the moment.”

Town are the first promoted team to have won their first three Championship games since Southampton in 2011/12 and extended their unbeaten all-competitions run to 21 matches, a new club record.

Next week Town could match the 23-match unbeaten league streak previously only achieved in 1979/80.

Asked whether he and his teammates are proud of those records, the Scotland-born centre-half considered: “I guess so. That’s the first time I’ve heard about it, to be fair.

“These are probably secondary things. If I can go out there and we win a game of football, I’m already as happy as I can be, really.

“It’s nice to hear but we can pat ourselves on the back for that later on down the line. Maybe when I can’t kick a ball anymore I can look back on that and enjoy it.”

Looking ahead to next week’s home game against Leeds United, a Premier League side until a few months ago, Burgess was asked whether taking on the Whites will be a good benchmark.

“That’s probably a little bit harsh on the other teams we’ve played so far, every team is a benchmark,” the centre-half responded. “It’s a tough league.

“It’s an exciting game looking at it, but it’s just the next game on our journey and it’s the next game in the season.”

Photos: TWTD/Sipa USA

Ebantiass added 16:25 - Aug 20 Great work Cam and like you say if we have a solid defence there is always a chance to win the match with a single goal.
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Linkboy13 added 08:43 - Aug 21 Wouldn't say we were solid against QPR we rather got away with it.
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Cervantes added 14:12 - Aug 21 @Linkboy13 I think that's a fair assessment. Although we controlled large portion of the game, we did make mistakes that led to chances for Rangers. Hladky pulled off a couple of good saves and conceding a goal might have changed the shape of the game. Saying that, we created enough chances to win easily, but we need to cut out some of the mistakes or we could be punished by more clinical finishing. I thought Ainsworth's comments on the game were designed to keep his players' morale up. We deserved it on the day.

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