Last season’s promotion near-miss at Brentford is a spur to go all the way in the forthcoming season with Town, new signing Jonathan Douglas has admitted.
While the Bees finished fifth and went out in the play-offs to Middlesbrough, his new club were suffering similar disappointment in going down to rivals Norwich, who went on to beat Boro at Wembley and claim their place in the Premier League.
Douglas, 33, said: "What happened last season definitely drives you on. All over the summer I was looking forward to getting back in and down to work. Ipswich were unfortunate and also missed out but hopefully this season we can go a couple of steps better.”
Douglas returned to Griffin Park expecting to continue what he and his team-mates had started but he was surprisingly informed that he was now deemed surplus to requirements and told he was free to find a new club.
He added: "Since I was told that I could go I had my agent on the phone and this was the number one club that I wanted to come to.
"Just by playing against them last year I knew they were capable of challenging this year as well. With the people the gaffer has added to the squad it can only be good.
"I still had a year of my contract to go so it wasn’t a case of wondering where I was going to end up. Ninety per cent of the footballers that played last season are probably still out of contract so I was lucky that if all else failed I was still going to be there. But once I knew Ipswich were interested I was delighted.
"Mick [McCarthy] tried to sign me once when I was at Leeds about six or seven years ago but that’s as far as it got. Nothing happened then so I’m looking forward to working with him now.
"He’s very approachable and I’ve spoken to a few of the boys around the dressing room, and they have nothing but good things to say about him.”
Douglas sees last season’s beaten finalists, Middlesbrough, as title candidates. He said: "Apart from us I look at Boro because they have been recruiting well and also Derby.
"I think the teams who were there or thereabouts last year will do well again this year. The important thing is to get off to a good start. You can’t be chasing, especially the top teams in this division.”
He may be nearing the latter stages of his career but Douglas insisted: "I feel really good. I’ve got to give a lot of respect to the backroom staff at Brentford.
"They looked after me during the past three or four years and really got me through the games. A lot of credit goes to them, the physios and the fitness coaches.
"I’ve played a lot of games and last season was good for us when we just missed out. Now I can’t wait to get started here.”