Town defender Jordan Spence believes the forthcoming hectic schedule of five games in the space of just 15 days represents a huge test of their capabilities.
Refreshed after the international break, Mick McCarthy’s men start their busy spell with a visit to Hull and then face Sheffield Wednesday (H), Aston Villa (A), Derby County (A) and Nottingham Forest (H) in quick succession.
Town recorded a comfortable 3-0 home win over Preston North End last time out and Spence, 27, said: "It’s always nice to win before an international break and obviously we had failed to do that on the other two occasions.
"It leaves a sour taste in the mouth if you have to sit on a defeat for longer than you normally have to, so it was good from that point of view.
"I wasn’t too disappointed that we didn’t have a game to play within a few days because it’s nice to have a rest, if I’m honest.
"You know when the international breaks are coming so it’s not like it comes as any sort of surprise, which can happen when a game is postponed and rearranged.
"With the games we have coming up we’re really going to be tested and we’re going to be on the road quite a bit as well. We’ll see what our mettle is.
"People always ask what we expect — well, we’ll see, won’t we? We’ll see how good we are when we are faced with the tests that are coming up.
"We think we happen to have a good squad and a good team. We certainly have a great work ethic and that will be put to the test.
"I don’t really try to prioritise one team against another. The three points are the same whether you beat someone at the top or at the bottom — they don’t give you a bonus point for beating a team at the top.
"A win’s a win and there is some stiff opposition in the Championship, all the way from top to bottom.
"There will be some teams below us at the moment who will believe they should be punching a little bit higher, and there will some at the top who will be full of it and looking forward to taking on their next challenge. We’ll see what we get when we get there.”
Town have recorded eight wins and seven defeats in their 15 league games this season, their 24-point tally putting them eighth in the Championship, just two points shy of the play-off positions, and they also have a game in hand on six of the seven teams above them in the table.
Spence added: "Right now, league positions are irrelevant. It’s about getting wins on the board and seeing where we are around Christmas time.
"But we’ve made no secret of what the ambition is for this season — we want to be fighting at the top end of the table and we’ll only do that if we win games.
"Even in the games we have lost this season there’s not been a hell of a lot in all of them and, similarly, some games that we’ve won have been very tight as well. That’s the division we’re in.
"We believe we are a competitive side — we can score goals and we can prevent goals, and that’s normally a decent combination.
"Five games in 15 days will be a big physical test but the training programme adjusts itself accordingly. We will be able to come off it when we’re not playing and, minus the younger players in the dressing room, we will all have experienced periods like this before.
"Everybody knows how to manage their bodies and what they need at different stages. It’s tough, it’s not easy, but that’s why we put in the work during pre-season and it’s what we train for, to be able to do it.
"Hopefully we will come through it as injury-free as possible in the early stages so that we can have the squad depth and the competitiveness all the way through.”