Jonathan Douglas may not have seen much action since last season but the Town new boy has declared himself fit and raring to go at former club Brentford tomorrow.
Douglas, who launched his career at Blackburn and has also played for Leeds and Swindon, as well as having loan spells at Chesterfield, Blackpool and Gillingham, can’t wait to embark on the latest chapter of his career.
But he is probably a more likely substitute at Griffin Park tomorrow, given his lack of involvement in the Bees’ pre-season programme after new head coach Marinus Dijkhuizen decided the Irishman would not feature in his future plans.
Asked about his match fitness, Douglas said: "I’ve only played a couple of 45 minutes so I’m probably still a little bit behind the lads here, but not too far away.
"I’ll be ready if the chance comes along this weekend but if not I’ll be there to cheer on the boys. It’s a good game and I’m looking forward to it. If I get involved, great, but if not I’ll be hoping for a win for my new club.”
Douglas, who netted eight times to help Brentford finish fifth in the Championship table last season, admitted his celebrations will be subdued should he start life as an Ipswich player with a goal against his former club.
He added: "Any goal is special and it doesn’t matter who it is against. I probably wouldn’t celebrate it just out of respect because there are still a few people who work at the club that I get on well with and still call them friends.
"Obviously, I want to win and it doesn’t matter who it is against. If I score I’ll probably do something.
"I’ll be looking to help with the workload of the likes of Murph up front. The manager has put a good squad together here and if I can chip in with the odd goal here and there, then brilliant.
"If the midfield lads can create chances we have the strikers, four of the very best at this level, to take them. We also have young Ryan [Fraser] and young Ainsley [Maitland-Niles].
"They are both good wingers who are also going to create chances for the boys up front and I’ll be trying to get into the box to score a few as well.
"You do need a good mixture between the experienced boys and the young lads and we have it here. You need their youthful legs and it’s a good squad here. I spoke to a couple of other clubs but nothing of interest compared to a club of Ipswich’s stature.”
Photo: ITFC