Tom Carroll, the most recent of Town’s 16 summer signings, has admitted the pressure of playing for a club desperate to win promotion from League One was what attracted him to join.
Carroll agrees that the way the Blues deal with the pressure of being one of the third tier’s boys will go a long way towards determining where they will finish in what is their third season at this level following relegation from the Championship under Paul Lambert in 2019.
He said: "I think pressure is good, it’s a good thing to have. I don’t believe this is a League One club and if the boys are not feeling a bit of pressure to get up they’ve got the wrong feeling a little bit.
"I think it will be good to play with a bit of pressure because teams are going to want to beat us and I’m looking forward to that.”
The 29-year-old midfielder had only a brief taste of playing for the Blues in Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat at Cheltenham, coming off the bench in the 89th minute to replace Rekeem Harper, and will be hoping to be more involved on Saturday when MK Dons are the visitors to Portman Road.
Watford-born Carroll, who launched his career with Tottenham, was available after rejecting the offer of a new deal to remain with Championship club Queens Park Rangers, for whom he made 24 first-team appearances without scoring last term.
He said: "You want to get under way as soon as you can. Obviously, the circumstances weren’t great and it was only a few minutes, while it would have been nice to get a win, but there are no easy games in this league and we just have to crack on and go again in the next game.”
Town’s start, taking just one win from a possible nine in their first three league games and being knocked out of the Carabao Cup by an understrength Newport side, has caused some unrest among supporters who feel they have underperformed. Carroll added: "Fans want to see their side win and we fully understand that. We have a great squad here with good management who know the league inside out and the boys have got to stay positive.
"There’s a quick turnaround in games and we are going into the weekend with another one. We’re going to need the fans with us this year and hopefully we can give them something to cheer about soon.”
Asked how the move came about, Carroll went on: "It was probably about a week ago or so when I was up at Derby training with them. I think the manager had come to one of the games [a friendly against Real Betis] and what not.
"He gave me a call and told me of his plans for the season. He’s a really positive guy and having seen his Wigan team, and how he wants to do things, it was nice to get the call.
"I think every player wants to play at the highest level they can but it’s a bit of a strange window at the minute. I had a contract offer from QPR but one thing or another didn’t fit into place and I wasn’t as happy as I feel I should have been treated there. You’ve got to make decisions in life, it’s a short career and I didn’t want to keep missing out on football.
"The season had started and I know how big a football club Ipswich is. I’ve spent most of my time in either the Premier League or the Championship but it shows the stature of the club and where they’re trying to get back to.”
Carroll was asked if he was happy with the one-year deal he has agreed with at Town and continued: "Yes, let’s see what happens. It’s League One but I feel I was one of our better players last season in the Championship before I got injured.
"It’s going to be tough because there are some massive clubs in this league as well — it’s almost like a second Championship to be honest with some of the sides in it.
"But this club doesn’t want to be hanging around in League One either. I think it will be a good season for us and I think once everything gets clicking we’ll be on the up.”