Wes Burns has urged Town fans to stick behind the team and ease the pressure on boss Paul Cook that has steadily grown following the team’s failure to win any of their opening eight league and cup games this season.
Asked about the fact that some supporters are already calling for Cook’s dismissal, Burns said: "I think it’s very unfair at this stage. I know a lot of them are asking how long it should take for a team to gel but how long is a piece of string?
"He’s got a lot of ideas on how he wants us to play and there’s only so much you can teach during the week in which you are preparing for a game.
"There’s only so much you can do each day in training without burning the players out and frazzling minds with too much information. I would say the supporters need to stick with us and I believe times will change.
"The gelling process is still in the making and with the calibre of player we have here it is probably one of the best squads that I’ve ever been a part of and I think it’s probably one of the best squads that League One has ever seen. We’ve got to make sure the fans stick with us and don’t turn on us too quickly.”
Burns is of the view that once midfielder Samy Morsy has served the remaining two games of the three-game ban he incurred with former club Middlesbrough, and Dijon loanee Bersant Celina has reached peak fitness, Town will carry greater attacking threat and be more sound defensively.
He has witnessed their impact in training and added: "Samy has that leadership vibe about him and we saw it straight away. He literally trains exactly how he plays and it can rub some people up the wrong way with his challenges and the way he can kick people. But that’s just how he is and that’s what he has been brought in to do.
"I don’t care if he trains like that and I don’t even care if he kicks me because I know he’ll do exactly the same to the opposition on a Saturday when he is ready to play after his suspension. He comes from a place where he is so eager to push this team forward.
"I have no doubt that when Samy is allowed to come into the squad and he’s fully fit he will have a lot to offer — and it’s the same with Celina as well.
"I don’t think I’ve seen Bersant give the ball away in training since he’s been here and he’s going to add so much more in terms of firepower to the front line when he is in the side.”
Burns is delighted to be an Ipswich Town player and to have been reunited with the club’s new chief executive, Mark Ashton, who has been at the forefront of the massive rebuilding exercise since he started his role at the beginning of June.
Burns said: "I worked before with Mark at Oxford, when I was on loan there, and going further back to when I was a permanent signing at Bristol City.
"What he built at Bristol City is quite evident for everybody to see — the stadium, the new training ground and the amount of players, plus the calibre of players, who were coming in.
"With speaking to my family and my agent we knew the sort of project that the manager and Mark were proposing right from the start.
"It wasn’t smoke without fire and was definitely going to happen. They were very clear from day one that they were going to bring in an entirely new squad of players, upwards of 15 of them. I never believed it wouldn’t happen and saw it as a case of just waiting for the players to be signed.”
Finally, Burns admitted he still harbours hope of playing for Wales in next year’s World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Qatar in December. "Playing international football is definitely something in the back of my mind,” he said.
"If I am playing well and the team is doing well it can only help. Lee Evans is here as well and he will also be pushing for a spot.
"If we turn this start round and go on to win promotion, meaning we will be playing in the Championship next season, and there’s the World Cup coming up next year, it would be a massive achievement for me and I think I speak for Lee as well.
"If we can build a case for getting into the World Cup squad, that would be the ultimate, the cherry on the cake if you like.”