New signing Steven Taylor has pledged to bring leadership, experience and character — as well as his qualities as a defender — to Town.
The 31-year-old, who is in line to make his debut against promotion-chasing Reading at Portman Road tomorrow, arrives at a time when Mick McCarthy and his players are in need of a boost following a depressing run of form.
Town have been knocked out of the FA Cup by non-league Lincoln and in the Championship have taken just four points from a possible 15. Their five fixtures throughout February see them take on four teams in the thick of the battle for automatic promotion and play-off places, as well as an Aston Villa side many believe could still force their way into contention.
Taylor was in and around the dressing room in midweek, before and after Derby’s 3-0 win, but is impatient to step up and make his first appearance. "I’ll be doing my very best to bring leadership, character and experience to the team,” he promised.
"There are already some good players and leaders in the squad but, hopefully, I will bring that to the table. The respect around the changing room has been very good so far — they’re a good bunch of lads. Once I get my first game we’ll kick on from there.
"The hardest thing for me is going to be the initiation song in front of all the players, manager and staff. It’s going to happen the night before my first away game and I still haven’t a clue what I’ll be doing.”
When McCarthy told Taylor he wanted to sign him he also warned him he wouldn’t necessarily get a lot of first team football in the coming months. But he was impressed by the player’s reaction, Taylor insisting he would be ready to go when required.
The former Newcastle defender, who has arrived via a short spell in Major League Soccer with Portland Timbers, said: "You’ve got to accept that it’s not going to be easy coming into a new team. You’ve got to earn the right to play and the respect of others, rather than think you can just walk straight in.
"You’ve got to make sure you stamp your authority on the training ground and that’s what I’m trying to do. I will give my all in every game and I’m relishing the opportunity to play.
"I watched the game against Derby the other night and it was a difficult one. When you go through a blip you’re going to get games like that.”
Taylor has paid tribute to Ipswich managerial legend Sir Bobby Robson, who was in charge for a large chunk of his time with the Geordies. "I left school and went straight into the reserve/first team set-up and to have someone like that as your manager was a bit nerve-racking,” he admitted.
"He had that aura about him and he had the respect to deal with the kind of egos that were there at the time.
"There were some big fish but he dealt with them and gained their respect. He was great with the young players at Newcastle, always willing to give up his time to assist in some way.
"Then you had the likes of Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy in training — two very different types.
"Shearer would batter you, elbow you and smash you about, while Bellamy was a livewire with a very different personality on the pitch. These guys took me under their wing and helped me to progress.
"It was every day and never easy because you were testing yourself against the best. I’ve got Sir Bobby to thank for bringing me in at the age of 16.
"He used to say age was just a number and not to worry about what people said. In his book, if you were good enough you were old enough and ever since then it has been good for me.”
Newcastle, looking a good bet to regain their Premier League status at the earliest possible opportunity, are the visitors to Ipswich on Easter Monday. But Taylor said: "I’m not thinking about that — my main focus is Reading on Saturday and putting points on the table.
"There’s no reason why we can’t go on a good run. We’ve got some great players in the squad and once we get a bit of rhythm and confidence into us we can start moving in the right direction.”
Taylor also confirmed he negotiated his move to Ipswich without the help of an agent, usually seen as a must-have accessory by most of today’s players. He explained: "I do have a lawyer who looks through things but I like to talk man to man with the manager and miss out the middle men.
"I’d rather do things that way and once Mick McCarthy rang me up that was it. The deal didn’t take long after that. Now it’s all about playing football and that’s what I’ll be concentrating on.”