New boss Paul Hurst is pleased that his time at Town will get up and running with a home game against Tony Mowbray’s Blackburn Rovers in a start which also sees trips to Rotherham, where he spent most of his playing career, and Sheffield Wednesday, the club he supported as a boy, as well as an East Anglian derby against Norwich City at Portman Road. The Blues' 2018/19 fixtures were announced earlier today.
"I was hoping for a home game to start my career off with Ipswich Town and that’s what we’ve got,” he said when speaking to legendary Blues striker Alan Brazil on his Sports Breakfast show on talkSPORT (from 7mins 28secs).
"I’m very familiar with Blackburn after to trying to challenge them last season with my old club for promotion to the Championship, so that' one that I’m really looking forward to.”
Hurst is also pleased that the Blues will be facing Norwich City on in the campaign with the new manager aware that it’s nine years since Town claimed an East Anglian derby victory.
"I understand that Ipswich haven’t had the better of their local rivals for some time so I was certainly looking forward to seeing when that is,” he added.
"Thankfully it’s early and if we could manage to get a victory then that would I’m sure help me build a relationship with supporters.
"And on a personal level we’ve got a lot of good games for myself. Blackburn, as we said, Rotherham, my former club, who I missed out on promotion [to with Shrewsbury] in the play-off final not so long ago.
"Sheffield Wednesday, who were my club that I was brought up supporting, I think that’s our third away game. And two beaten play-off teams in Aston Villa and Derby as well in the first few weeks.”
Regarding additions to his squad, Hurst reiterated that the budget will remain tight: "I don’t think much will change from when Mick was there in terms of the players we’ll be looking at.
"We realise we’re up against it, certainly in terms of the teams that are coming down from the Premier League and [other] teams that have got parachute payments.
"Money helps but thankfully it’s not the be all and end all and I’m very optimistic about the season ahead. I’m honoured to be manager of this football club and I know you were a part of that and its rich history.
"I understand that that is carried [as the] manager of Ipswich Town but we want to create our own piece of history moving forward. But, as I say, it’s a very challenging league, but I’m certainly up for it.”
Hurst says he’ll have no problem fielding youngsters if they show they’re up to the job: "We’ve got a lot of young players and I’m more than happy for them to have an opportunity. But what I would say they’ve got to be good enough.
"I’m a big believer that age is just a number, which ever end of the scale we’re looking at - if they’re good enough, they’ll play.
"The Ipswich fans, every club wants their own players to do well, but certainly at Ipswich they’ve had a tradition of bringing players through.
"They’ve not quite had one that’s really made the jump compared to someone like Kieron Dyer but we’ve got a lot of young lads [and] I’m hopeful that we can get a couple of those through and playing regularly in the team.”