New loanee Danny Higginbotham is set to make his first start for the Blues when Paul Jewell’s men take on Barnsley at Oakwell on Saturday. Guirane N’Daw and Nathan Ellington could also come into the XI as Town look to end a run of three successive defeats which has seen them drop to 23rd in the Championship.
Strike pair Paul Taylor and Michael Chopra remain sidelined with a cracked foot and a thigh strain respectively, although the latter, a former Barnsley loanee, could be available for Tuesday’s visit to Brighton and Hove Albion.
Jewell, who made an unsuccessful move for QPR’s DJ Campbell as cover this week, says losing the duo is far from ideal but that it comes with the territory: "They are two blows for us but we can’t dwell on that.
"I’m not a manager who uses injuries and referees as excuses. That’s life, we’ve got to get on with it.”
While Chopra’s problem is relatively minor, Taylor could face being sidelined for most or all of the rest of the season if he requires an operation, although his manager says that at the moment it isn’t anticipated that he’ll need surgery: "I’m hoping it won’t come to that.
"The surgeon has suggested that the route we take now will see him fit in six to eight weeks, even though Taylor’s such a tough character that he’s thinking he’ll be back before then.
"We’ve got to be careful, we’ve got to make sure we don’t rush him back because he’s got that capability of wanting to get back quickly.
"Fingers crossed that the way we’re going is going to sort the problem out, but if it doesn’t I’m just trying to give you the worst case scenario.”
Jewell, who is 48 today, says he loves being the boss of Town, despite the current struggles, and says sleepless nights come with the job, whether a team is winning or losing: "I don’t think many managers get much sleep, to be honest.
"At the end of the day we’re always thinking about it, whether you’re winning games, how you can continue that run, or when you’re losing games, how you can try to stop it.
"You never stop thinking about the game. Whether you win, lose or draw, to be brutally honest, sleep is a rare commodity with us managers.”
Jewell believes his side’s performances haven’t always got what they’ve deserved in recent games, although he was less impressed with their display against Charlton.
He says his team will have to be at their best against the Tykes after a hugely impressive result last week when — like Town at Oakwell in last season’s remarkable 5-3 turnaround — they scored all five goals in the second half, striker Craig Davies netting four of them: "Despite the results we’ve had in the last three games there have been two decent performances I feel, and one pretty average one on Saturday.
"Barnsley have just proved what everyone says every week — just how tough this league is. They’ve gone to Birmingham and beaten them 5-0 and it could have been more.
"You don’t see a 5-0 result coming, but no one’s surprised that Barnsley have beaten Birmingham, just as they wouldn’t be surprised if Birmingham beat Barnsley. You can’t call this league. It’s an impossible league to call.”
Jewell has confirmed that Higginbotham will come into his backline having come on as a late sub last week with Tommy Smith set to be the man to drop out.
The on-loan Stoke man will renew the central defensive partnership he forged with Luke Chambers during his spell at Nottingham Forest last season, with skipper Carlos Edwards at right-back and Aaron Cresswell on the left.
In the centre of midfield, the Blues boss will probably recall Guirane N’Daw with Andy Drury likely to be the man to drop out and Massimo Luongo alongside the Senegalese international.
Jewell seems unlikely to start Jay Emmanuel-Thomas after his disappointing performance last week, so may well name Lee Martin on the right and Daryl Murphy on the left.
Nathan Ellington impressed after coming on as a half-time sub for Emmanuel-Thomas last week and could be handed only his fourth start for the Blues — his second in the league — alongside Jason Scotland up front.
Alternatively, the Town boss could start Josh Carson in one of the wide positions with Martin in behind either Scotland or Ellington in the lone striker’s role. With Town’s striking options limited, Ronan Murray - whose suspension for his U21s red card only affects non-first team games - will hope for some involvement from the bench.
Barnsley boss Keith Hill says his side have got to keep their feet on the ground and not to allow confidence to turn into arrogance after last week’s impressive win: "We’ve got to guard against that, but training has gone great this week and there’s a buzz in the camp.
"The players know what we expect from them and deserve all the plaudits they got for our victory over Birmingham.
"Ipswich is a different challenge for us and no matter how well they’re playing, we’ll give them the utmost respect.”
Like his Town counterpart, Hill says all games are tough in the Championship: "We and I have learned from this league - the harsh realities are that you don’t judge any team on league position. If you do it’s at your peril. The league is demanding and unforgiving.
"The league table for me, I try not to look at, I don’t take it into consideration on who we’re playing. I look at Ipswich Town as a team we have to play twice and the work we have to do in trying to gain as many points as we possibly can.
"I have a lot of respect for Paul Jewell and that respect will remain intact before, during and after the game. We can’t give any consideration to where the team we’re playing is in the league.”
Defender or midfielder Bobby Hassell is available after a three-match ban, while midfielders David Perkins and Matty Done and defender Rob Edwards are all back from injury, however, Hill is likely to stick with the team which won at St Andrew’s.
Striker Mido and full-back Jimmy McNulty are out with hamstring injuries, while midfielder Jim O’Brien is not yet ready to return after a shoulder problem.
Historically, Town have done well against the South Yorkshiremen, winning 21 games between the sides (20 in the league), drawing five (five) and losing 13 (11). The Tykes, who have a home record this season of won two, drawn one and lost none, are currently 10 places above the Blues in 13th with 10 points, twice Town’s current total.
In March, Daryl Murphy’s fourth goal of his second loan spell with the Blues was enough to see Town to a 1-0 victory over Barnsley at Portman Road, still their most recent home win.
The Irishman struck soon after half-time with the on-loan Celtic man and Lee Martin subsequently having good chances to add to the Blues’ lead, while Jay Emmanuel-Thomas struck the bar.
Earlier on in the season, at Oakwell in December, second half goals from Keith Andrews (2), Danny Collins, Michael Chopra and Jason Scotland saw the Blues turn around a two-goal half-time deficit in extraordinary fashion to beat Barnsley 5-3 at Oakwell.
Town — who had lost their previous seven games - had been atrocious before the break with the Tykes deservedly two goals in front via Craig Davies, a penalty, and Ricardo Vaz Te. Davies added Barnsley’s third in the closing minutes.
The most famous meeting between the teams came in May 2000 at Wembley when Town won the play-off final 4-2 to reach the Premier League.
Tykes striker Marlon Harewood made five starts and one sub appearance, scoring one goal, while on loan with Town while a Nottingham Forest player between January and March 1999. The 33-year-old joined Barnsley in the summer.
Current Town striker Michael Chopra made 41 starts and one sub appearance, scoring 17 goals, while spending 2004/05 on loan at Oakwell when with Newcastle.
Blues fitness coach Andy Liddell was a Barnsley player between 1991 and 1998 having come through the Tykes’ youth system.
Saturday’s referee is Berkshire-based whistler Trevor Kettle, who has shown 21 yellow cards and one red in six games so far this season. Kettle’s last Town match was the 2-1 win at Burnley in April 2011 in which he booked seven players, four of them Blues.
Squad from: Loach, Lee-Barrett, Edwards, Cresswell, Ainsley, Chambers, Higginbotham, Smith, N’Daw, Luongo, Drury, Hyam, Murphy, Martin, Carson, Emmanuel-Thomas, Scotland, Ellington, Murray.