Loan signing Josh Earl would love the opportunity of a run in the Town side as he is a big fan of the new-look defensive formation favoured by manager Paul Lambert in recent weeks.
It remains to be seen if Lambert will persevere with a back three at AFC Wimbledon tomorrow evening as he looks to avoid a fourth successive league defeat that would further damage the club’s chances of making an instant return to the Championship following last season’s relegation.
But Town have had some joy from the partnership of Luke Chambers, James Wilson and Luke Woolfenden, with the two Lukes relishing the responsibility to attack down the flanks when the opportunity has arisen, as it helped them to a five-game unbeaten league run and saw them reclaim pole position in the League One table.
Earl laughed: "Defenders often have to put their head into places where you wouldn’t want to put your foot and overlapping centre-halves might look big and clumsy at times. But they’ve got a bit about them here and we’ll benefit from assists and even goals.
"I’m happy with the overlapping centre-back roles currently occupied by Chambo and Woolfy. I think it would suit me quite well but the two Lukes have been doing it really well recently. They’ve been overlapping and getting among the assists so it has worked well so far.”
Earl played 11 times on loan for Bolton, between August and January, and added: "I enjoyed it there and the manager was really good to me. I enjoyed playing there and the fans were great but this is a very different challenge. There’s a lot more pressure on us to go out and perform and get wins. I’m really excited to be at a massive club like this.
"This opportunity came up and I was keen to take it. How could I turn it down? Ipswich are a massive club, fighting to get promoted from League One and even win the league. It was too good a chance to miss.
"It feels more like a Championship set-up here and I want to help the club get back there.
"You tend not to get too many opportunities like this. The trick is to make the most of them when they do come along. It was great to be involved from the bench at the weekend and I’m ready to play from the start if required.
"The Preston manager, Alex Neil, has just said to go and play some games to pick up some valuable experience. It’s a good opportunity to do that and it’s obviously a different environment to what I’ve been used to at Preston.
"The lads are fighting for automatic promotion, not just the play-offs, so there are different pressures for me to cope with and Alex Neil wants to see how I get on.
"This is the first time I’ve been away from home in Southport so I’ve been cooking and washing for myself, all that sort of stuff. It’s a big shock to the system but everything about the move is positive and good for me.
"My dad’s now a home and away Ipswich fan. He comes to all the games and stays over. The lads here have taken me under their wing. They’re all quality, whether they are around my age or a bit older. They’ve been unbelievable, all of them.
"The gaffer here has had a chat and explained that I’ve been a bit unlucky not to get more game time.
"Before I came down here they probably weren’t in the best of form because they had gone 12 games without a win but as soon as I came in they were doing a lot better, so I understand the situation.
"I want them to do well and get promoted. I might get my chance a different way, you never know in this game, but right now I’m buzzing to be here.”