Stand-in skipper Carlos Edwards is confident he could serve Ipswich for at least two more years after his current contract expires in the summer.
Edwards has already made it clear that because he and his family are settled in Suffolk he is keen to remain at Portman Road and would willingly consider a new deal on reduced terms.
He said: "I believe I have another couple of seasons in me. I look at Ryan Giggs, he is 38 and I don’t think my fitness level is any less than his. I am 33 and the body feels good.”
Edwards, who has scored six goals in 112 appearances since his arrival from Sunderland in August 2009, even believes his new role as team captain has benefited him.
He laughed: "I think the armband has some magical power because I feel more energetic. I am enjoying the responsibility of leading the team.
"I was genuinely surprised when [assistant manager] Chris Hutchings handed it to me about an hour before the kick-off at Portsmouth last week. He joked that it had been decided by the flick of a coin.
"I’ve tried not to let it change me. I am not becoming too eager just because I am captain. I am still calm, trying to do my business and perform as well as I can. I am voicing my opinion but all the players can do that and I think I have done a good job so far.”
Apart from the 1-0 win at Fratton Park, Edwards also skippered the side to a 3-0 home win over promotion-chasing Cardiff last Saturday so can boast a 100 per cent record and two clean sheets. But Edwards is the first to acknowledge that things were already going well prior to him replacing crocked captain Ibrahima Sonko, who is now back in contention for tomorrow’s trip to Brighton. He added: "We had won our previous two games and we now have four on the trot but none of us are getting too carried away by the form we are in at the moment. "We have the quality going forward to punish opponents. We have shown we can score a few goals but as always we will be concentrating first and foremost on our defending and trying to keep another clean sheet.”What to read next:
Town’s U18s beat Millwall 4-2 in their penultimate Professional Development League Two South game of the season at the Den this afternoon.
Town boss Kieran McKenna played his part in helping tidy Christchurch Park this morning following yesterday’s promotion celebration.
Leif Davis was named the Town Men’s Players’ Player of the Year at last night’s End-of-Season Dinner at Venue 16.
Town forward Sone Aluko has hung up his boots at the age of 35, the club has announced.
Photos from today's promotion celebration parade from Portman Road to Christchurch Park.
Huge crowds lined the streets of Ipswich and packed Christchurch Park as the Blues held a Bank Holiday open-top bus parade to celebrate promotion to the Premier League.
Blues keeper Nick Hayes’s loan side Solihull Moors lost on penalties to Bromley in the National League play-off final, the first of two visits to Wembley Stadium.
A new podcast from the Blue Monday team is now available.
Ipswich Town Women ended their 2023/24 league campaign with a fourth straight win, Natasha Thomas’s first-half goal sealing a 1-0 home victory over 10-woman Billericay Town in front of a bumper crowd at the AGL Arena.
Town loan star Omari Hutchinson has been named in the final Championship Team of the Week of the season following his display in yesterday’s 2-0 victory over Huddersfield, which confirmed promotion back to the Premier League.