Town new boy Tom Carroll is not only determined to prove his worth at Portman Road - he has not given up on one day returning to play in the Premier League.
It was in the top flight that the midfielder first made his name with Tottenham, graduating from the club’s youth side in 2010 to play in the Europa League and domestic cup competitions and having loan spells with Leyton Orient and Derby County before making his Premier League debut two years later.
Asked if he might play in England’s top tier again, Carroll replied: "Who knows? I’ve still got lots of ambition and I still believe I can play at a high level, in the right side. That’s big for me, being in the right team helps massively.
"I feel that before my injury last year I was performing to a very good level, so I feel I can get back to that, no trouble. I just want to keep doing better and keep improving.”
Carroll is hoping the injury problems that blighted the last few seasons are now in the past and is up for the challenge of playing 40-plus games in League One for Paul Cook’s promotion-seeking side.
He added: "That’s really what I need to do — that’s what I need to tick off. Unfortunately, over the last three or four years I haven’t played as much football as I should have done for one reason or another. I’ve had a hip operation and a knee operation, a couple of major surgeries, but I feel fit.
"I don’t feel they are problems for me anymore or that they are holding me back, which is good, and I just want to get on the field and play football, on the training ground and on match day, and hopefully I can do that here.
"I have missed the buzz that football can provide. I’ve missed it loads, especially in front of fans. Last year I think I played the first 24 games in a row before I did my knee.
"I was loving it but with the fans you get a different buzz. I didn’t want to miss anymore football because I love being out there with the ball at my feet. I just wanted to get in here and get going.
"The injuries mean I’ve missed some of the best years of my career, which is unfortunate, but I’m not an old boy and I feel I’ve got plenty of games left in me — that’s for sure — and it will take a lot to stop me going on for some years yet in my career.
"Can I get back to my best? I hope so and I feel that way. With this side we have to dominate games and there’s a pressure to be up there.
"These are the things that attracted me because I want to be in a team that’s winning, pushing for promotion and dominating games. If we can do that and have the ball for the majority of time in matches I feel you will see a good side of me.”
Carroll is eager to show he has what it takes to accompany Town into the Championship and take it from there and is keen to emphasise he never let his injury woes reach the point where he was thinking of quitting the game.
He added: "I would be lying if I said the last few years haven’t been really tough with injuries but I’d never want to walk away from the game. I’ve never felt that the injuries were going to do me in almost. I feel like I’ve got plenty of life left in me.
"I’m only 29, not 35, and I’m sure a lot of people have been through hard times with injuries and it is tough.
"I came through my hip operation, came back, played 25 games and was doing well. That was major surgery, so was my knee, and when I came back from that I was feeling fit and sharp, so I’m hopeful.
"I’ve got my family behind me, my parents, my missus and my little one, my one-year-old son.
"He’s kept me busy and kept my mind off things when things haven’t been going great, which is helpful. But even if I’m at home I can’t stop watching football — it’s just my life really — and to be without football would be a strange old life.
"My son has just started walking and he’s lively, but it’s always nice to think about other things as well and having a family does that. My missus is going to get him an Ipswich kit so that’s another supporter for the club.”
With skipper Lee Evans and fellow midfielder Rekeem Harper ever-present so far in the league this season, Carroll accepts he may have to wait before he can seize his chance to become a first-team regular.
The man who cost Swansea £4.5 million when they signed him from Spurs seven years ago said: "At any team there are a lot of good players in different positions.
"I think I must have played against both Lee and Rekeem in the Championship at one time or another, probably when they were at Wigan and West Brom.
"I know they are both good players but you want to play with good players. I’ve only had a couple of weeks’ training but hopefully I can show what I’m about and show I can offer something a little bit different.
"It’s up to the manager who he picks and what formation he wants to play. I’ve just got to do my own thing.
"I like to be someone who can dictate the play, find some nice passes and get the attacking players on the ball. I like to be the team ticker in a way and get things going.
"Can I play a full 90 minutes? I don’t know but I hope so. I played a couple of pre-season games, only 45 minutes in a 60, but it felt really good. It’s going to have to be down to the guys here, the medical team etc. and then we’ll see where I’m at.”