He has finally ended his longest-ever run without scoring and Town striker Freddie Sears can reflect with a smile on the fact that Tuesday’s late clincher against Burton Albion was his first in 39 games.
The ex-West Ham and Colchester striker laughed: "It’s amazing what can happen in 10 months. When I scored at Fulham in December last year I didn’t even know my missus was pregnant. If you’d said that I’d be a father again before my next goal I would have said ‘You’re clueless mate’.
"But it’s football and you never know what’s round the corner in this game. I had a good scoring run when I first came here and scored nine goals in my first 20 games but it can soon change, as I have discovered.
"If I was playing up front in every game and kept missing chances maybe there would be something wrong. But I’ve been playing left midfield, right midfield — even left-back at times during some games — for the last 18 months and I’ve not kicked up a fuss. I could quite easily have said I didn’t want to play there but I’m happy to do it.
"I want to help the team and if that’s what it takes so be it. The important thing is to get the three points.
"The gaffer wants me to track back so I do it because it’s part of football. Wardy [Grant Ward] has come in from Spurs and he’s got no complaints about being asked to do it.
This is the longest run I’ve had in that role. I did it a couple of times at West Ham and at Colchester I also filled in there.
"I’m a fit lad and I get on with it. I’ve checked the running stats — we all get the sheet so we have a laugh and a joke about who’s been running and who hasn’t — and I tend to do the most high intensity running in every game.
""That’s what I have to do if I’m going to play for Ipswich Town and do well here. I probably run 11 or 12 kilometres in every game.”
Back to family matters and Sears is grateful that he can return home after training and switch off completely as he devotes time to his fiancée and two sons.
He added: "It’s been the perfect getaway for me really. When you are going through a slow period, not scoring, it’s nice to be able to go home and switch off for a bit.
"Everywhere else it’s football, football and more football. Everyone I see is talking about it but when I walk in the door I’m just a dad to my two boys.
"It’s brilliant and I must say my missus and the kids have all been brilliant as well. I’ve got a two-year-old, Jax, and the baby, Jake, was born 10 weeks ago.
"I go into a completely different environment at home — one where I’m just their dad and I pretend to be Spiderman or kick the ball about with Jax in the garden.”