Loanee Town defender Moritz Volz has dismissed claims that the Championship lags a long way behind the Premier League. The German is on loan with the Blues for the season from Fulham.
The ex-Arsenal trainee wrote in his latest Times column: "The perception is that the gap is huge but while there are obvious differences, from my experience, the two leagues are much closer than you might think.
"It might live in the shadow of the top flight over here but when you look at the Championship as a stand-alone European league, it holds its own against the very best.â€Â
Volz says he has seen little long-ball football since making the step down: "I've played against quite a few teams now and haven't come across one who are interested only in kicking it long. If anything, I've seen sides overplaying.
"And I should mention that it was Ipswich's reputation for playing decent football that was one of the reasons I chose to come here this season. At times, I've been blown away by some of our combination football â€" lots of movement on and off the ball and one and two-touch passing for long periods.
"But where the Championship differs is that you don't get that throughout games. Championship football can be quite erratic â€" it chops and changes â€" and for that reason I'd say the tempo is greater than the top flight.
"But it's important to differentiate between tempo and pace. When there is less control and consistency in the play, possession changes constantly and stats show that if you don't have the ball, you tend to run more.
"Pace is a different matter. There are plenty of Championship players who have all the technical ability in the world but just lack that bit of speed. That's not to say that you don't get lightning fast players in the Championship too.â€Â
Meanwhile, striker Pablo Couñago says he feels the Blues are finding it harder to play at home this season: "It's probably easier to play away, where the home team have to play more football. That helps us.
"I don't know if it's a confidence issue or not when we play at Portman Road. All the teams know we were brilliant at home last season and they've worked out how to play against us.
"We have to break them down and it's a bit difficult when teams come here and play with five in midfield, like on Saturday.
"When we have the ball we try and play the ball through the middle of the park but it was hard to do that in this match.â€Â
Town are at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday with the division's table-proppers having signed QPR keeper Lee Camp on loan.
Elsewhere, police are investigating reports of racial abuse directed at Town's Kevin Lisbie by a female Swansea fan during Saturday's game at Portman Road.