Town boss Paul Cook has given his strongest hint yet that he is set to switch from his preferred 4-2-3-1 system to a formation featuring two up front.
Cook has said on a number of occasions that he has been considering pairing James Norwood and Kayden Jackson as a front two despite having utilised 4-2-3-1 throughout his management career and his successes at Chesterfield, Portsmouth and Wigan.
"I wanted continuity and I wanted to pick the same team and wanted partnerships to develop,” he said.
"I wanted consistency in formations — I just can’t get it. And I’m not fighting it any more. I’m not fighting it.
"I’ve let that fight be won by what I can’t win. My new fight now is to get results and win games on a short-term basis. That’s my new fight.
"That’s my clear agenda for Bristol Rovers tomorrow and then we look at Rochdale the next one. But we’ve got to win some games to get this club into the play-offs, we have to.”
Asked whether he is tempted to move to using Jackson and Norwood as a front two, Cook added: "Yeah, why not? One things for sure I won't get to the end of the season playing 4-2-3-1 in a team that doesn't function playing that way.
"That's not going to happen for our supporters. I think our supporters would be grossly disappointed with me if they thought I was going to continue doing that. So the brutal reality is watch this space.”
He continued: "My job is to find a way. My job is not to sit and wait and watch and hope. My job is to find a way. I've been working with these lads for a month now.
"In four weeks, I've learned a lot about them and they've probably learnt a lot about me and the demands, and what going forward we can demand.
"But the one thing that all Ipswich Town fans demand is that we turn up and that we try our best to win that game of football.
"What the formations look like will remain to be seen. I'm not going to sit in front of everyone and say ‘this is my philosophy and this is my identity’. My identity is winning and that's the greatest identity any manager or coach can have.”
The week prior to the trip to Wigan was the first without a Tuesday fixture since Cook took charge and he had planned double training sessions for the first three days of the week, however, he subsequently said that the squad wasn’t able to train with the intensity he was hoping for.
There has again been no midweek fixture again this week, so was the plan to do much the same over the last few days?
"Again, you're just on a learning curve like everyone,” Cook reflected. "The reality is our supporters wanting to know so much, I get it.
"You know, as you learn it can change your own plan as you go along, can't it? My plan was a very set rigid one.
"Last week informed me a lot about the club and what goes on within the club. The plan this week has been different, but the outcome of the plan is winning on Friday. So we're just going to try and go about it, possibly in a different manner.”
Asked whether it’s been frustrating watching recent games, Cook laughed: "No! It’s tough lads because I watch all the manager interviews after games, I watch the big managers, the senior managers, you look at [England U21s boss] Aidy Boothroyd last night [as they conceded an injury time goal to Croatia to knock them out of the Euros], imagine the pain Aidy’s going through today, being in that winning position and it’s taken away from you.
"And I listen to what managers say and my biggest overriding thing in all my career, these players play for me, they play for the club, they represent us all and sometimes we’ve very quick to give them criticism.
"That’s not my style, that’s just not my style. My style is to make these lads believe that we can achieve something this year at Ipswich Town Football Club that could go in memories.
"We’ve got do that first and foremost, so there’ll be no negativity from me in any shape or form.
"Our fans will crave different formations, different stuff and I’m about to deliver that for them. And like them I’ll be sitting watching, hoping, praying that we get it right.”