Town new boy Ellis Harrison may have hit the ground running since his £750,000 move from Bristol Rovers last month but he will never rest on his laurels — because mother Ruth won’t allow it.
Harrison, 24, grabbed his first Portman Road goal in last week’s 2-1 friendly defeat by West Ham and was given a standing ovation when replaced towards the end by manager Paul Hurst.
He wasted little time in calling his mum back home in Newport and admitted: "She had watched it live on Facebook and she was really happy for me. It was a very emotional call with quite a few tears being shed.
"She is my biggest fan and number one critic. She’s been taking me around for football training since I was four and she knows what she’s talking about.
"I would play for Rovers and think I’d had a good game and then when I spoke to her afterwards she didn’t pull her punches.
"She’d tell me I hadn’t worked hard enough and should have done this and that. It was good for me because I think I need her to bring me back down to earth.
"I remember us cycling over to Newport’s ground years ago and when I went on trial to Swansea for a few weeks she would collect me from school and then we’d travel by bus and train there and back. I couldn’t have done any of this without my mum.”
But while recognising his mum’s contribution as the most important, Harrison is also quick to acknowledge the part played in his progress by Rovers’ management duo of Darrell Clarke and assistant Marcus Stewart, who booked his place in Town’s Hall of Fame almost 20 years ago.
Stewart, also a former Rovers player, helped to win promotion to the Premier League for Town in 2000 and the following season was the highest-scoring Englishman in the top flight as George Burley’s team finished an amazing fifth to qualify for the UEFA Cup.
Harrison added: "I didn’t really have a chance to speak to Marcus about my move it because it all happened so quickly.
"But I did catch up with him after the West Ham game and he was very pleased for me that I’d scored, and he wished me well for the future.
"He’s a modest guy and never said much about his time here but I was aware of his achievements with Ipswich.
"We would sometimes see him on Sky Sports — they have a show called The Premier League Years where they feature lots of old games — and the lads would give him a bit of stick about his hairstyle back then.
"I can’t speak highly enough of him as a coach — he was unbelievable for me because we put in the extra hours and he was always on top of me, trying to get the very best out of me.
"At the time I was maybe thinking ‘Phew, give me a break’ but I’m so glad he saw something in me and helped to get it out of me.
"He made me better in every department of the game. We worked on finishing every single day — he didn’t do days off — and in terms of my technique it was practice, practice, practice until it started to become natural.
"I keep in touch with Stewie and also my old gaffer. They’ve been such a big part of my career and my life that they’re friends. Darrell was my boss but our relationship is different now and I wish him and Stewie, and the club, nothing but the best.”
Harrison caught the eye against the Hammers a week ago as he operated in the lone striker role favoured by new boss Hurst but he added: "I just want to be in the team to be honest.
"It doesn’t matter what system we play, I need to keep my place by working hard for the team.
"It’s no shock to me being the one up top because we played that way at Rovers for the last two years and I felt I dealt with it quite well.
"No disrespect to the Bristol lads, but I’m playing alongside better players here because it’s a step up to the Championship.
"But although I’m alongside guys who see the passes earlier I’m also up against better defenders and that’s where I need to adapt.”
As for mother Ruth, he hopes it won’t be too long before she is able to make the cross-country trip to see him in action at Portman Road.
"She works a lot on Saturdays,” he explained, "so she is trying to get her work rota sorted so she can have time off to travel to Ipswich and see a game.”