Stephen Hunt believes the decision to reduce admission prices for Town’s FA Cup third round replay against Southampton at Portman Road this evening was a masterstroke.
The two clubs decided on a policy of £10 per adult ticket, £5 for concessions and £3 for under-16s, which helped to attract more than 31,000 fans to the first game at St Mary’s at a time when many third round ties saw drastically reduced turnouts.
Town fans have responded in similar fashion ahead of the replay and club officials anticipate close to a full house to add to the feel-good factor already at the club as a result of the form displayed in the Championship by Mick McCarthy’s team.
Hunt said: "It’s not costing an arm and a leg to get in with the tickets being reduced. Under the lights at Portman Road is always special and we’ll be looking to try to get the place rocking and get the fans behind us right from the start.
"We’ve lost just once in 12 league games so there’s not an awful lot wrong with our form. Even from the knock we took against Derby on Saturday we’re still confident and we have a lot of strong characters in the team. We can pick ourselves up and go again.
"The FA Cup, in fairness, can give you a buzz. Win the game, knock out a Premiership team and hopefully Portman Road will be rocking at the end of it.
"We’ll carry that on to Saturday but we have a tough game against Millwall and it will be nothing like Southampton, I can tell you that.”
After the clash with Derby was broadcast live by Sky Sports, Town will be playing to an even bigger audience on Wednesday with the game chosen for live transmission on BBC1 and Match of the Day regulars Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Mark Lawrenson will spearhead the coverage.
Hunt added: "Live games can affect people in different ways. You can get a buzz from it or you can become a bit nervous. For me, personally, it’s a buzz because everyone is watching you and you are back in the limelight. I’m very much looking forward to it.”
Hunt is set to start, just as he did in the first game, but the 33-year-old is also looking to re-establish himself in the Town side for league games, adding: "I had a bad virus last month, couldn’t get back in and missed two or three games. You just keep your head down and wait for your opportunity to come.
"The game at Southampton was my first one back and I did okay but I wasn’t anything special. I will be trying to make an impression in the replay and get in the team for Millwall on Saturday.”