Goalscoring debutant striker Joe Garner was delighted that the Blues got their season off to a winning start via Saturday’s 1-0 home victory over Birmingham City, particularly after last week’s 6-1 friendly hammering away against League One Charlton.
"As a striker it’s always nice to score goals but we are a team and it was good to get the win,” Garner said reflecting on his 50th minute winner.
"It was a great cross [from Jonas Knudsen] and I was glad to get on the end of it and score.”
The Blackburn-born frontman says the squad discussed the Valley defeat in the build-up to Saturday’s match.
"We spoke about that loss during training in the week, but it was important to remember that was pre-season and this was now,” he added. "We reacted well and that’s all credit to the gaffer and the lads.”
What’s feared to be a cruciate knee ligament injury suffered by 18-year-old midfielder Andre Dozzell cast a shadow over an otherwise excellent afternoon for the Blues and their fans.
"Dozzell's injury looks bad he will have scan and I hope he is OK,” Garner continued. "He is young and will come back strong. He and Flynn Downes are really good players with bright futures.”
After spending a year playing for Rangers in the Scottish Premiership having previously played in the Championship with Preston and Nottingham Forest, which does the 29-year-old believe is the higher standard?
"It’s all football,” he said diplomatically. "People say the standard of football is better here, others say it is better up there, but that’s not an argument for me to get into.
"I’m just happy to score and that we won. To win the first game at home was important, everyone goes home happy.”
Birmingham defender Marc Roberts says the visitors took a number of pluses from the match despite the defeat.
"We came here to win, as we will every game because the manager wants us to go out and try and win every game,” he said.
"We took a lot of positives out of the game, especially the first hour when we played well and looked solid.
"We missed a couple of chances and in this league it is going to hurt. Up until their goal Ipswich didn’t really have any chances but took the one they got.
"It is fine margins if David Davis had scored that goal [with the chance just prior to Garner’s goal] it could have been a very different game and we could have run out as winners. We need to pick ourselves up. It is a long old season.”