Around 6,500 fans attended Town’s annual Open Day at Portman Road this morning, an event which manager Mick McCarthy hailed as “fabulous” and “humbling”.
Fans formed queues which stretched round the Cobbold and Sir Bobby Robson stands for a signing and selfie session before the players, who earlier had sat for the annual squad photo, trained on the main Portman Road pitch. Meanwhile, various stalls and attractions were available on the FieldTurf behind the East of England Co-op Stand.
"It’s been a great day, a fabulous day,” McCarthy said. "Unfortunately it’s just starting to rain but I think we’ve had the best of it.
"It’s always quite humbling when the fans turn up and you see mums and dads queueing with kids for hours and guys in wheelchairs queueing to come and get autographs and pictures, it is humbling.
"And it gets all the juices going because you feed off their enthusiasm for the start of the season. We’re all looking forward to it but I can just see the excitement in the supporters that turn up, it’s brilliant.”
McCarthy’s table at the signing session was the busiest but he says that wasn’t down to his presence.
"I was very fortunate that someone worked it out and they put me on the table with Freddie Sears and Joe Garner,” he laughed. "They put me at the front so they couldn’t ignore me, they had to come past me first. Whoever did that I have to thank them very much.
"They were all pleasant and gracious and I wouldn’t expect anything else, and I was and the players were to them.
"Chambo’s still doing it [nodding to his skipper signing autographs at the side of the pitch], which he shouldn’t be because he’ll end up with a bad back and he’ll be complaining tomorrow.”
McCarthy says the Open Day typifies the community spirit at the club: "I think so and I think the management and players and staff also recognise that and epitomise that with how we go about our business, how we work.
"What’s lovely about the players is that they do it selflessly. Somebody said to me the other day that at some clubs players get forced to do it. Well, they don’t here, they go out and do it very willingly and a re very good at it. It says a lot about the club.”
Does he feel a close affinity with the town having been manager at Town for nearly five years now? "I love it here, I love my time here and every year you kind of forget. You go away, you have your close season, the end of the season wasn’t great - walking around the pitch and getting booed and getting jeered off wasn’t nice - but it’s this sort of thing that is the real Ipswich Town, which is lovely. And I’ve really appreciated it today.”
Does he believe a line needs to be drawn under last season, the Blues having finished a disappointing 16th with fans having regularly expressed their frustration with him and owner Marcus Evans.
"I don’t have any lines to draw, not from me,” he insisted. "I come out and do my job and do it as well as I possibly can.
"I walked out here and I got announced and there were a few boos, which is disappointing. Whoever turned up and wanted to boo me good luck to them because most of them cheered.
"I can’t do anything about that other than to have a team which plays well and wins. I think we’ve played well in pre-season, the Birmingham game will tell a lot. If we win it and play well it will change a lot of people’s minds. If we lose, we’ll be getting booed off by a lot of people. That’s the way it is.”
Tom Adeyemi was absent from the signing session and training as was Bersant Celina, who has suffered a recurrence of the illness which has hampered several players - and McCarthy - during pre-season.
"He’s poorly. He brought it in and he passed it on and gave it to me, gave it Skusey, gave it to Tom Adeyemi and now he’s gone down with it again, somebody’s given it him back.
"Tom’s really struggled with it, it’s just knocked him off his feet, which wouldn’t be easy given the size of him.
"But he’s a great athlete, there’ll be a couple of weeks and he’ll be fine. As soon as he comes back I think it’ll only take him a couple of weeks before he’s back.”
A number of players other players sat out training, including Emyr Huws. Quizzed on the Wales international’s fitness and when he might return, McCarthy added: "I can’t tell you exactly because it’s his achilles because they grumble on, so that’s got to be perfect before he comes back.”
Teddy Bishop is understood to be likely to return to training next week, although McCarthy was more cautious: "He’s hurt his groin, I couldn’t give you a timeframe on that at all.”
Better news was that Cole Skuse was back training this morning, although still not 100 per cent, while Andre Dozzell played 45 minutes for the U23s last night and was also involved at Portman Road today.
McCarthy was pleased to have added to his central midfield options: "I think I need them, I’ve got six injured, or I had yesterday with Skusey being poorly.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s final friendly at Charlton, he says it will be nearer to the team which lines-up against Birmingham on the opening day of the season seven days later.
"There will be some who are not going to play, George Fowler’s not going to play at right-back, put it that way,” the Blues boss continued.
"It’s going to be more the first team squad, the first team squad will be playing and will be subs and I’ll pick the bones out of it for Birmingham here.”