Luke Woolfenden has labelled tomorrow’s visit to Charlton as a must-win game as Town take on another side with the play-offs in their sights.
It may not seem appropriate to talk about a top-six finish to the season given recent results, with the Blues only securing two wins in 10 games since Paul Cook succeeded Paul Lambert in the Portman Road hot seat last month.
But the fact remains that Town still have a chance, albeit a slim one, of gatecrashing the play-offs and they head for South London for the second time in just four days looking for a very different performance and result than at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
The 3-0 defeat on that occasion was a massive blow, coming as it did on the back of three goalless draws in their previous four outings, and it is a sequence of results that suggests Cook and his players are entering the last-chance saloon tomorrow.
"It’s definitely a must-win game,” stressed defender Woolfenden, who has put together a run of five consecutive appearances that has seen him finish on the winning side only once, the 2-1 home win over lowly Bristol Rovers on Good Friday.
Woolfenden, 22, added: "Even when we have been drawing, the other results have generally been quite kind to us. The other clubs chasing the play-off places have also dropped points to keep us in the mix but we have got to the point now where we must win at Charlton to stay in the hunt.
"It’s a game between two teams that have a lot to play for. It could suit us that Charlton will be feeling the pressure as well because they would probably say they have also been under-performing this season. There will be a lot of pressure out there tomorrow.”
Town fans will hope that the players are eager to erase the memory of the Plough Lane defeat in midweek. "They are the tough ones,” Woolfenden admitted. "You go into it with everyone expecting you to win and to be fair, up until the first goal that was probably the brightest we had looked going forward in a few games.
"We had created a few chances and we were winning the ball high up the pitch, but once they scored from the corner they completely mugged us.
"It’s not good enough and as a group of players we need to recover from setbacks better than what we do, as opposed to just lying down and taking it.”
Asked if that suggested a mental frailty, he replied: "I think it must be. I don’t think there’s a lack of effort on the pitch so maybe it’s a lack of belief or something like that.
"I’m not really too sure and can’t put my finger on what it is. Whatever it is, it needs to improve. As a group of players we know it needs to improve. We’re not stupid.”
Manager Cook pulled no punches in his press conference this morning, admitting his huge frustration and disappointment with performances and results — and admitting that he took charge confident that he could lead the club to a play-off finish this season.
Woolfenden continued: "What the gaffer says to you [the media] is the same as what he says to us. To be fair, whether he thinks it’s needed or not, we all know our performances this season haven’t been good enough.
"Whether it has to be said or not, we all know it’s just a matter of us going out on the pitch and proving that we are good players, starting tomorrow at Charlton.”