Striker Kayden Jackson admits he can’t wait for the big kick-off as Town prepare to face Cambridge United at the Abbey Stadium this afternoon in their final warm-up game ahead of the trip to Burton on August 3rd that marks the club’s return to English football’s third tier for the first time in 62 years.
Jackson, 25, said: "I just want the season to start now. It’s been different to last year because every manager has his own ideas and way of working.
"But it doesn’t matter who the manager is because pre-season is always tough and it’s about being at your best when the first game comes round. But while it has been tough, it has also been enjoyable.”
The speedy frontman will soon be celebrating his first year as an Ipswich player following his £1.6 million switch from Accrington Stanley and after scoring just three goals in 36 league appearances — 14 starts, 22 off the bench — in his debut season he is looking to make much more of an impact in the forthcoming campaign.
He added: "From an individual point of view it has been disappointing. I’d had a good season at Accrington, helping them win the League Two title, before I came here and I was looking to build on that by playing a lot of games, scoring a lot of goals and being successful.
"But looking back on last season it was obviously very disappointing for everyone, although our relegation has only given me the hunger to succeed this season.
"That’s why I have worked so hard in pre-season training to ensure I am at my best come next week and our first game at Burton.
"I have worked as hard as possible and done as much as I could have done to make sure we can make up for last season and get back to the Championship again.
"I believe there is still a lot to come from me. I didn’t really get a chance last season, for various different reasons, to show what I’m all about.
"Hopefully, I will do a lot better in the new season, not only to show what I can do but to also give the fans something to cheer about. It was also tough for them last season and they deserve better.
"They come here to watch us play good football and get wins, which is what we will be aiming to do right from the start.”
Jackson has impressed in the recent pre-season games and continued: "It’s nice to stick the ball in the back of the net. I got two at Colchester and another one at Notts County, and last season I didn’t get anywhere near as many as I was hoping to get.
"But at the end of the day, they are goals in pre-season games and they count for nothing. I just hope to carry on scoring when the real thing gets under way and get as many goals as I can.
"I’m 100 per cent confident of getting goals in League One. I wouldn’t still be here if I wasn’t convinced I can score plenty.
"I’d have said to the manager ‘I don’t think I can hack it’ but there’s no chance of that. I’m 100 per cent certain, as long as I’m given the opportunity, that I can flourish at this level.”
There is a school of thought that with Teddy Bishop and Jack Lankester both set to miss the first few weeks of the new campaign because of knee and back problems respectively, and concerns over Alan Judge’s future, Town’s attaching players could suffer from a lack of creativity in the ranks.
But Jackson insisted: "If you go back to our 5-0 win at Colchester last week we had plenty of chances. It was a joy to play in that game and I only came on at half-time.
"I don’t know how the fans felt watching it but I enjoyed every minute I was on the pitch. It just showed how creative we can be with the guys who are fit and raring to go.
"Yes, there are players injured and we all feel for them, but look at the boost they will provide when they are up and running again.
"For the time being there’s enough creativity for us to score goals and win games, plus we have the work rate as well because you need to have both aspects of the game to be successful. We’ll need clean sheets as well and I think we have a bit of everything.”
QPR’s ongoing interest in Republic of Ireland international Judge — they have so far had two bids rejected — is an obvious concern and Jackson added: "Judgey is a top, top player and you won’t find many players in League One with his type of ability.
"If we’ve still got him when the transfer window closes it will be massive for us but we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”