Boss Paul Cook is firmly behind the ‘running towards adversity’ motto CEO Mark Ashton is seeking to instil at the club.
Ashton has said that running towards adversity "represents the funding of this football club, it represents what we’re about and what we’re trying to do, and I’ve explained that to all of the players that have come in”.
The motto, which will be outside the home dressing room, relates to the police and fire services’ pension fund, Arizona’s Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS), which holds a 90 per cent stake in Gamechanger 20 Ltd, the company which now owns 87.5 per cent of the club, and is providing the money behind this summer’s Portman Road revolution.
Cook concurs with Ashton: "I think the way the club is being funded is a very clear message to everybody. The reality of where the money is coming from is from all the services that we’re all so reliant upon, services that have probably been extremely stretched over the last 18 months.
"Us as footballers, managers and coaches are in a very, very privileged position, and we should never forget that — never ever.
"Our supporters want to look down on us with the knowledge that we’re doing the best we can for them.
"And that’s not just on the pitch, but off the pitch in the community and everywhere. So, I think running towards adversity is great for us all to pick up and carry forward for our owners, our supporters and everyone connected to the club.”
Asked about the importance of strength of character and mentality when it came to recruitment, he added: "Strength of character is important for us all, for me as a manager, when you lose, when you get beat, it’s having that respect and manners for the opposition.
"It’s for the players to realise how you get better is by working harder. It’s not complicated in football, it’s not making six changes for the next game, it’s not throwing everything away you’re working on, it’s working harder.
"As I’ve said to Ipswich fans all along, all we can promise is that we will work hard, 100 per cent we will work hard for our owners, my bosses, our supporters, our club. And hopefully along the way that’s good enough.”
Versatility is also something which he sees as very important: "It’s gold. It’s like that even with the young lads coming through now if you look at young Dobs [Armando Dobra], for example.
"When you’re playing in teams nowadays, the proven reality for flair players at the top end of the pitch is that there’s a reliance on you to score goals.
"The terminology in football now is numbers, that’s what all the coaches [talk about] and the word on the street is is numbers, and for you to be a player at a big club, you have to have numbers and you have to contribute and you have to score goals.
"At Portman Road, it’s irrelevant how the opposition play. We’re going to take the game to every team, that’s life as a big club and we’ll do the same away from home.
"It doesn’t mean we’re going to win, but there must be a reliance on the players that we’re picking that we know they can score goals.”