Town striker Brett Pitman hopes to face former club Bristol City in tonight’s clash between two out-of-form sides at Portman Road.
The Robins, one place and point below Mick McCarthy’s men in the Championship table, have managed just one win in their last nine league games — and that was the 2-0 triumph over Town at Ashton Gate earlier this month.
In the same period Town have won three times and Pitman, withdrawn at half-time in Tuesday’s 2-0 home defeat by Fulham on Boxing Day, is hoping to be given another chance up front against a Robins outfit who have suffered eight defeats in their last nine league outings.
Pitman netted twice in the 3-2 win at Wigan and is keen to add to his season’s total of three against the club he joined from Bournemouth in August 2010 and for whom he went on to net 20 goals in 77 league games, 44 of which were as a substitute, before returning to the Cherries, initially on loan and then on a permanent deal, in January 2013.
His debut for the West Country club actually came at Portman Road in August 2010 when goals from Tamas Priskin and Jason Scotland earned a 2-0 win for a Town team managed at the time by Roy Keane.
Pitman said: "I enjoyed my time with Bristol City. It probably wasn’t great the way it ended with a change of manager but I enjoyed my time there. My son was born in Bristol and that’s something that I’ll always be proud of.
"But he won’t be supporting them on Friday. I don’t think he even knows Bristol have a team — he’s an Ipswich fan. But Bristol City are a really good club with good people.”
Robins’ boss Lee Johnson, son of experienced manager Gary Johnson, who was also in charge at Ashton Gate and now manages League Two club Cheltenham, is a former team-mate of Pitman.
The Town man added: "I don’t text him or speak to him very often but I have done at times. I’ll be trying to beat him on Friday. Lee was the type who always looked as if he would go on to coach and manage.
"He would look at things as a coach even when he was still playing towards the end of his career. He was always going to follow in his dad’s footsteps and I think it was a natural progression to become a coach and a manager. He’s certainly done well.”
Meanwhile, Pitman underlined his desire to help Town turn the corner in what has been a stop-start season so far. He said: "I try to lead and I like to think I’m a winner. I hate losing, probably like everybody else. It’s not good and I try to do everything I can to help the team win.
"If that means maybe picking someone up on something they’ve not done well — or praising them — I like to think I do both. That’s part and parcel of football. Once you walk back into the dressing room and out the other side to go home you’re back to normal, everyday life.
"The only way you improve is to pick out weaknesses and identify the things that people can improve on.
"That’s how I’ve always had it at every club I’ve been at, from either the manager or other players. I think that’s healthy.
"If you all just come in and accept whatever’s happened you’re never going to improve or you almost lack a little bit of hunger to improve and be successful.”
Asked if he was self-critical he responded: "Yes, for sure. If I miss a chance I’ll think about it all night. It’s not a nice thing to do. I’m just as self-critical as I am critical of others but I also like to think that I give out as much praise if someone’s done something well.”