Town striker Kayden Jackson may have been sidelined for much of the season so far but he has boldly targeted a better return for the current campaign than he managed last term.
Jackson’s three appearances — two off the bench followed by his first start at Sunderland on Tuesday — may have yet to see him find the net but he is confident that he can surpass last season’s tally of 11, which saw him share the leading marksman accolade with fellow striker James Norwood.
The former Accrington Stanley man also contributed seven assists in the 2019/20 campaign curtailed by the Covid-19 pandemic and he was also the first member of the Portman Road playing staff to pick up the virus, although first-team coach Matt Gill also fell victim, while defender Luke Woolfenden is still self-isolating at home having come into contact with someone who has tested positive.
Asked whether he felt he could improve on his 11-goal tally last season, Jackson replied: "Looking back to last season, I was disappointed not to get more goals.
"I think perhaps I should have scored more but I was happy in the end to contribute to the amount of goals I did, both in terms of goals scored and assists.
"As a striker, or as a footballer, you want to improve with every season and I’ve been working hard to do that.
"First and foremost, I want to get my match sharpness and match fitness back, which you can only get from playing games on a regular basis, so I just want to play as many as possible and then take it from there.
"It was frustrating that I was coming back from the injury, and I was ready to play, when I caught the virus. It has been a strange time but it’s strange for everybody and we just have to get on with it.
"It was strange that I was the one to contract it because we had all travelled and been in contact with each other.
"When I started feeling ill I just thought I had to do the best thing for the team and stay away. I had to report it immediately and thankfully I was the only one who caught it.
"For a couple of days I felt pretty bad but after that I felt absolutely fine, as if it had been flu or just a bad cold that I’d had. I’ve not had any of the problems that you see reported in the press thankfully.”
Jackson is happy that the season will continue during the second lockdown to hit the UK, which got under way yesterday, and added: "It’s tough because health has to come first and mental health is massive as well.
"You can take away sport but it’s not just the players, the fans also have to be considered and I think it would make the second lockdown extremely tough.
"I don’t think a lot of people would get through it without being able to watch or partake in some sport of some kind.
"It’s good that we are able to carry on and we are taking all the right measures.
"The club have been unbelievable in terms of keeping players isolated and it just goes to show that when I caught it no one else in the building caught it.
"I know Gilly got it a week or two later and Woolfy is self-isolating, but it shows that the right precautions are being taken by the club to protect as much as possible.
"The last few months have been difficult but I’m always one to be aware that there are a lot of people in far worse situations than I am in. I’ve had my family there, my little one and my partner, and we’ve been able to get through it.
"Of course, it’s tough for everybody and you just have to dig in and do what you can to get through it.
"I’ve had more time with my son and he has definitely kept me on my toes. When I was resting I didn’t always have my feet up like most people might have done or as people might imagine a footballer would be.
"It was key time to spend with him because otherwise I would have been away from home a lot with the games we had. The fact that I was able to spend so much time with him is something I will treasure and never forget.”