Town take on Reading in this evening’s live Sky game at the start of a tough run of September fixtures looking to avenge last season’s 5-1 defeat at the Madejski Stadium (Sky Sports One/Sky Sports Mix from 7.30pm, kick-off 8pm).
"It is a tough month,” manager Mick McCarthy reflected. "I thought we had a tough start and you tend not to look beyond that first month.
"And now Reading away and we all remember last year Reading away on a Friday night, so we need to address that.
"Derby away, Tuesday night under lights, always tough. And Villa, I don’t know what to expect.
"They’ve signed a lot of good players, spent a lot of money, they were a Premier League team last season, so let’s hope we catch them on the rebound a little bit. Tough month, though.”
September ends with a trip to Leeds United and Brighton and Hove Albion’s visit to Portman Road.
Reflecting on last season’s 5-1 defeat at Reading almost a year ago to the day, McCarthy said the result wasn’t really a reflection of the game as a whole.
"We had more passes, I think, more shots at goal, more attempts, they had six attempts and scored five,” he said. "I don’t think we played particularly badly, we defended badly as a team.
"[Then-Royals manager] Steve Clarke said to me afterwards, ‘That wasn’t a 5-1’. He thought we played well. I don’t want to hear that when I’ve just walked in because we’ve just lost 5-1, but I think that was sincere, I think he was being genuine. It wasn’t a 5-1, but everything they hit went in the net.
"And even after half-time we got back in it and two of the most consistent players, Gerks and Skusey, had a mess-up and it ended up in the net and went to 3-1.
"We’d started the second half really well but it just went on to be one of those days when carnage happens.”
He added: "We weren’t intentionally open. I could tell you exactly why were open but I’m not going to.
"I looked at the game immediately afterwards and we just didn’t have that discipline and we got caught. It wasn’t any intention to be as wide open as that, that’s for sure.”
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Tonight’s game sees McCarthy coming up against another former central defender, former Holland international Jaap Stam, who took charge of Reading in the summer.
"He was a top class player playing for arguably the best club in the world, the best team in the world at the time,” McCarthy said. "They were really in their pomp at that stage, Manchester United.
"So, he was a fantastic centre-half for a really good team and a great club and he’s cutting his teeth at management and he seems to have had a decent start.”
The Blues boss believes the Royals, who are currently 15th on seven points, one point and four places behind Town, are starting to get to grips with style of play Stam is trying to instil.
"I think they are settling into the way Jaap Stam wants them to play,” he added. "I saw them play against Wolves and Wolves were all over them and could have beaten them by more than the 2-0 that they did. Their keeper made four one-on-one saves.
"But I’ve seen them since and they drew with Brighton at home two-all, they beat Cardiff [1-0] the day before the international break with a really solid performance that we’ve seen and they just look to be [settling into the way he wants them to play].
"He came in and he’s changed it, he’s doing something different but they’re looking like they’re getting into the swing of things and the way he wants them to play, and they’ve got good players.”
He added: "They are very much possession-based and building from the back and I think that was what they found hard against Wolves.
"I think Wolves went and pressed them and just starting doing it, you’ve got to get that confidence to do it and it looks like they’ve built that confidence. I know it’s only over five or six games, but nevertheless they’re getting better at it, which you’d expect.
"And he’s signed a few players that he knows, Dutch players that he knows can do the job.”
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Reflecting on Town’s most recent game, the 1-0 home win against Preston North End before the international break, he was impressed with Brett Pitman’s performance, the former AFC Bournemouth man having come in as a late replacement for Daryl Murphy, who had travelled to Newcastle to complete his £3 million move to the Magpies.
"I thought we played really well against Preston, it was a really good performance and Brett was outstanding,” the Town boss said.
"He’s been busting a gut to get in the team, so I’m not lamenting the fact that Murph’s gone, I’m pleased at the way Brett responded to getting in the team.
"I thought he was excellent and I’m hoping that we can get Besty at his best and then if we do we’ve got good strikers.”
While Pitman seems certain to keep his place in what’s again likely to be a front three, McCarthy confirmed that Tommy Smith will be again be starting in an unchanged back four having replaced Adam Webster for the Preston match.
How has summer signing Webster, who had started the first four Championship games of the season, taken his omission? "I haven’t seen him for a week, to be fair. And I’m not unduly concerned about that. I explain my reasons behind it and, you know what, I was fully justified as it turned out, the way the game panned out.
"And we won 1-0. When I make decisions and we win I don’t really go away and think about how I’ve dealt with somebody.
"What about Tommy? Go back the other way. What about Tommy when I told him he wasn’t playing? We beat Derby in the last game of the season, we drew with Middlesbrough, we beat the MK Dons, we’d had a really good run and I left him out.
"That’s the way it is, I make decisions and they’ve got to accept it. They might not like it but they’ve got to accept it. And when you win, they’ve got to accept it even more, it makes my job a lot easier.”
McCarthy seems likely to field an unchanged XI with Christophe Berra joining Smith at the heart of the defence, skipper Luke Chambers at right-back, Jonas Knudsen at left-back and Bartosz Bialkowski in goal.
In central midfield, Cole Skuse seems likely to be joined by Jonathan Douglas and Kevin Bru, although Teddy Bishop might be in the running for the Mauritius international’s spot having played 90 minutes for the U23s on Monday.
Up front, four-goal top scorer Grant Ward will be on the right and Freddie Sears - whose goalless streak has stretched to 32 matches - on the left of Pitman.
New signings Best and Tom Lawrence are likely to be among the subs, as will midfielder Conor Grant, who is back after his groin problem.
Still missing are David McGoldrick (ankle) and Luke Hyam (knee), while recent loan re-signing Jonny Williams also has an ankle problem which will prevent him from making his fourth Town debut until October.
Royals boss Stam will be looking for his side to pick up their first Championship home win since the opening day of the season.
"Ipswich are a good team and a tough side,” he told the official Reading website. "They work very hard to pick up results and that’s what they’ve done so far this season, so it’s going to be an interesting game. "We want to get a win, we’re going to go for it, it’s not going to be easy but we’ll see at the end of the game.”
The Dutchman isn’t anticipating a repeat of last year’s scoreline: "It’s not going to be the same. The score doesn’t matter to me as long as we win.”
Reading midfielder John Swift has had a slight hamstring injury but is back in training and could be involved against the Blues.
The Royals have no new injury worries with Stephen Quinn, Paul McShane, Chris Gunter, Sandro Wieser and Garath McCleary all returning to the club OK after international duty.
Striker Deniss Rakels is a long-term absentee having undergone ankle surgery, while midfielder Yakou Meite is a couple of weeks away from a return to action after damaging ankle ligaments.
Town have just about had the better of the Royals historically, winning 24 times (23 in the league), drawing nine (nine) and losing 22 (22).
Last time the teams met, at Portman Road in February, Town climbed back into the top six and extended their extraordinary record of Tuesday night home victories to 16 as an 89th minute Brett Pitman goal saw them to a 2-1 victory over the Royals.
After a lacklustre first half Ryan Fraser put the Blues in front on 57, Reading sub Garath McCleary equalised from the spot before Pitman’s late winner.
In September last year at the Madejski Stadium, Orlando Sa’s hat-trick saw Reading to a 5-1 victory over the Blues, their heaviest defeat for nearly three years.
Sa put the home side ahead in the seventh minute, Freddie Sears equalised soon afterwards before the Portuguese frontman made it 2-1 at the break.
In the second half Nick Blackman made it 3-1 and Sa completed his hat-trick before Oliver Norwood lashed in a late fifth.
Reading midfielder Stephen Quinn is the younger brother of ex-Blue Alan, while Town manager McCarthy has previously confirmed that he targeted Reading striker Yann Kermorgant when he joined Bournemouth from Charlton in January 2014.
Former Chelsea midfielder John Swift had a trial with Town in November 2014, while Dutch midfielder Joey van den Berg similarly spent time with the Blues in September 2006.
In addition to being shown in the UK on Sky Sports One, the match is on the new subscription-free Sky Sports Mix channel.
Tonight’s referee is Jeremy Simpson from Lancashire, who will taking charge of the Blues for the first time.
Simpson, who has previously officiated in three Reading games, has shown 24 yellow cards and no red in five games so far this season.
Squad from: Bialkowski, Gerken, Chambers (c), Emmanuel, Knudsen, Kenlock, Berra, T Smith, Webster, Digby, Skuse, Douglas, Bru, Bishop, Grant, Ward, Lawrence, Sears, Pitman, Best, Varney.