James Bree has praised Town fans for their support in Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at Norwich in the East Anglian derby.
Bree, 21, is on loan from Aston Villa until the end of the season and the game at Carrow Road was only his second outing after he made his debut in the narrow 1-0 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday, having signed on the last day of the January transfer window.
Bree said: "It was nice to be involved at Norwich. Everyone at the club was speaking about it during the week leading up to it and I realised how important it was to the players and the fans, and basically everyone involved in it. It was a good experience and I’m proud to say that I played in the game.
"I played in some good derbies for my first club, Barnsley, but I haven’t been involved in the Birmingham one yet, although hopefully I will be in the future.
"It was good and the atmosphere was really high. I don’t think there was any trouble in the crowd and that’s always good to see. It was a good day, except for the result of course.”
Asked how much it hurt that he and his colleagues failed to land the win the 2,000 away fans craved, he replied: "We were all trying to get the win, for the fans as well as ourselves, but it showed how proud the supporters were of our efforts.
"We may have lost 3-0 but they stuck behind us and were still singing at the end of the game. That was a big thing for me.
"I’ve played two games now and it’s a good place to be. I like the place and the lads have really helped me to settle in.
"I’m just moving into an apartment this afternoon, actually, so that will be better than hotel life.
"I’ve been thrown in at the deep end a little bit, not knowing I was coming on loan and then obviously playing after just one day of training with the lads. But, overall, it’s been good and I’m getting settled and looking to kick on.”
Bree reflected on how his Town debut came so quickly after he travelled down from the Midlands to have a medical and sign the necessary paperwork. "It means you don’t have much time to think about it,” he added.
"You’ve just got to go out there and play your game, although you don’t know the rest of the players and how they like to play.
"I’ve had a bit of time now and I appreciate there are some good players here, which I hope will enable us to get some wins and improve our position. When I was coming down here I didn’t really know what to expect with the club being bottom and so many points from safety.
"The reality is that the lads have been class and everybody is positive. It’s been a nice change to be here.
"I think a lot of the positivity comes from the gaffer and what he has implemented on the training ground and in the training itself.
"From what I’ve heard he has really lifted the place and the lads are backing him 100 per cent. Hopefully we can still get the points for him.
"It’s tough down there at the bottom and clearly we need to be winning games really if we’re going to get anything out of this season. The lads are staying positive and hopefully we can start getting the results.”
Town’s precarious position did nothing to put Bree off and he added: "I’ve seen Ipswich play this season and I know the quality they have.
"It’s just the results that haven’t really been there. For me it was just a case of getting out and playing football because I haven’t played much for two years, at a good level and for a good team, so that was the thinking behind it.
"The opportunity came a bit out of the blue. I played six or so games for Villa and it was mentioned at the start of the window that Ipswich were interested in taking me on loan.
"That never developed but it’s happened now and I’m just happy to be here. There were a couple of other teams but there was nothing certain until I was offered the opportunity to come here.”