Harry Clarke is hopeful of Town’s recent activity in the January transfer window being rewarded in the same way that the introduction of last year’s new recruits at a similar stage of the season helped propel the club to automatic promotion to the Championship.

Clarke, previously at the club as an academy player, was one of the new faces to arrive 13 months ago, along with Nathan Broadhead, Massimo Luongo and George Hirst, while manager Kieran McKenna’s senior squad has been further supplemented in recent weeks by the signing of loanees Lewis Travis, Jeremy Sarmiento and Kieffer Moore, along with a permanent move to bring striker Ali Al-Hamadi from AFC Wimbledon.

Should the Blues be able to recapture the stunning form of this stage last year, when they collected 41 points from a possible 45 in their last 15 games, they would have a real chance of claiming back-to-back promotions and returning to the Premier League for the first time in 22 years.

Can the four recent recruits have the same effect as those who were signed in January 2023? “Yes, 100 per cent they can,” said Clarke. “We’ve brought in Kieffer and he’s played at the very top level, plus Ali, who has shown exactly what he can do since he’s been here.

“They’re electric and Trav and Jeremy have brought in their own qualities. We’ve got a good squad and we’re looking good for the rest of the season.

“I can vouch for what Kieffer and Ali can bring to the squad because I’ve come up against them in training.

“Obviously, Kieffer is quite big and brings his own aerial ability, which will test even the best defenders. But his overall game is going to help us as well, the way he can bring other people into it and also with his assists.

“Ali’s very sharp and will keep improving. We all need to be tested and while I know they’re a test in training, it will be the same in games; they will give defenders a hard time in so many different ways.

“It’s just what we need right now and there is plenty of competition for places throughout the side.”

Asked if it could take the new lads a bit of time to fully adapt to the Ipswich way, Clarke added: “I don’t think so. They’ve adapted really well in a short space of time and Kieffer already has a couple of goals from his first game at Preston.

“He showed again on Saturday against West Brom what he can bring and Ali was very close to winning it for us right at the end.

“The boys who came off the bench also did a great job, with Omari [Hutchinson] scoring the equaliser and we were very close to getting all three points.”
Skipper Sam Morsy was his usual inspirational self on Saturday and Clarke was asked about his own personal relationship with the midfielder. “It’s brilliant,” he said. “He’s really taken to me since I rejoined the club. Being one of the youngest players in the group, he’s always had an arm round me. He’s a top, top bloke.

“On the pitch he’s a sort of fiery player, the type who can do something about it when things might not be going our way. One of his strengths is how he inspires the people around him and the way he can pick you up if you need it. Off the pitch, he’s the nicest guy you could ever meet. I’d say he has the perfect balance.”

Clarke was then quizzed about whether he fancied the role of captain in the future. As a local lad and one-time young supporter of the club, there was a glint in his eye as he replied: “Of course, it would be nice if that happened one day, but I’m still young and learning so it’s not something I’m thinking about right now.

“But if I was lucky enough to the Ipswich captain at some stage of my career, it would mean a lot to me. If it happened, I would take several things from the way Sam does the job, 100 per cent.

“It’s something I might want to do in the future but at the moment I’m quite happy with him as our skipper. He’s incredible and if I’m lucky enough to become a team captain later in my career, there are various traits of his that I would be happy to use.”

Town head for tonight’s game at Millwall sitting fourth in the Championship, a terrific achievement for a newly-promoted club, and Clarke was asked if it was more than him and his colleagues expected to attain in their first season back after a four-year exile in League One.

He said: “I’ve always said that with the group we had last year, that tremendous run we were on at the end of the season and then the players we brought in during the summer, plus the manager and his staff, we were capable of just about anything.

“I don’t think anyone expected this but we’re here now and we’re living up to it. There are a lot of teams who would like to be in our position and we have a lot to play for between now and the end of the season.”

With Town having played 30 league games and therefore no longer an unknown quantity, are they being treated differently by opponents during the second half of the league programme? Clarke added: “It happened last season to be honest. Teams were sitting back and trying to make it difficult for us, so it’s not surprising that it is happening again this season.

“They are going to try to stop our strengths – that’s football – and it’s up to us to find a way round that. We’ll keep working at it and see where it takes us.”

Turning to tonight’s visit to the Den and with Town anxious to end a run of nine games that has reaped just one win, he continued: “It’s always an experience there. I played there in the first game of last season when I was on loan at Stoke and we lost 2-0.

“It’s true what they say, it’s a tough place to go. We didn’t get the win and I don’t want that to happen again. We’re going to have to be at our best.”

While Town have stuttered of late, although their nine-game blip has only seen them lose twice, Southampton and Leeds have taken full advantage to move ahead of them for the second coveted automatic place, but Clarke insisted that he and his Town colleagues are only focused on their own fixtures.

“I don’t think we pay too much attention to what Southampton and Leeds are doing,” he said.

“We can’t do anything to alter their results, so if they win, they win. We can’t control what they do – no one can – so we are just focused on our own games and doing our best to win them.”

Photo: Matchday Images

Barty added 09:28 - Feb 14 I think 3 points tonight [ which I am confident of ] will kick start a good run for us and Southampton's defeat last night must be an added incentive. COYB.
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MK1 added 17:10 - Feb 14 Undoubtedly they have improved us, but fear Leeds are in the mood for promotion. Really can't see them slipping up and letting us in. We can only concentrate on ourselves of course and I think we will be 3rd with a faint hope of second.
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Hamish1979 added 19:05 - Feb 14 I think I sometimes forget how young Clarke is (22). Lots of potential development for him.
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