Town travel to Millwall this weekend having been eliminated from the FA Cup by Premier League opposition — but life for the Lions is a whole lot tougher following their embarrassing KO by League One outfit Bradford.
Wednesday’s 4-0 demolition came after defender Mark Beevers was sent off in the sixth minute, which means he will miss today’s game as the third-bottom Londoners seek a change of fortune after a run of just one win in their last 13 games in all competitions.
Fit-again Jay Tabb said: "Millwall would have been going to Chelsea in the next round and their fans would have loved that. They would have really wanted to win at Bradford but they were down to 10 men early on. That’s a tough place to go as well.
"I didn’t see the game and Bradford could have had four shots and scored four goals for all I know. Did Millwall put out their full-strength team or was it a weakened side?
"I don’t know and we can’t really look at their result, just focus on Saturday’s game. Whatever happened at Bradford has gone now and they will be trying to regroup and put in a good performance against us.
"The Den is a tough place to go and if they get a bit of momentum their fans really get behind them. Hopefully, if we can nick an early goal, their fans will be giving them a bit of stick and start getting on their backs.
"But if they score early on they will be right behind them and make it tough for us. We need to go there and get back to where we were at in the last few weeks and make sure we get the result.
"The Ipswich fans are great and have created some great atmospheres this season. Especially away from home, they have been fantastic. I thought they were great at Brentford on Boxing Day and I heard they were really good at Southampton as well.
"Obviously we’re giving the fans something to cheer about and they have their sights set on big things for the end of the season, which we have too.”
Tabb has so far clocked up 16 Championship starts this term, two more than he managed in the whole of last season, but he admitted: "I really don’t know what has made the difference and to be honest I don’t like talking about my form too much because you’re only one bad game away from everyone slating you again.
"The team are playing well and I think everyone who has gone into the team has played well. I don’t think you could say ‘He’s had a bad game’ about anyone and the whole squad is playing well, which makes it easier for the individuals who come in to put in good performances too.”
Tabb also echoed the comments of his colleagues when he added: "We’ve got a great bunch of lads here, the best bunch of guys I’ve been with in football and I’ve been a pro for 13 years now. As long as we bounce back from the defeat by Derby things could turn out well.
"We’ve got a great skipper in Chambo — he keeps everyone on their toes and buzzing — and there are no big-time Charlies. Everyone works hard and there are no bad eggs.
"There’s no one in the dressing room saying ‘I should be playing’ or this and that. Whoever is playing gets the backing of the whole dressing room and those who are not just get on with it and wait until they get their chance.”