Town defender George Edmundson admits he was sold on the move to Portman Road for the simple reason that the club’s ambition to reach the Premier League matched his own.
"It’s one of the main reasons I’m here,” said Edmundson, who is likely to make his 100th career league appearance tomorrow when the Blues take on Accrington Stanley looking to extend their unbeaten run to four games.
"I’ve played against Paul Cook teams in the past and I know they play really good footie. It excited me when I met Paul and the chief executive, Mark Ashton, and they explained the project in some detail.
"They were both clear about what they wanted for the club — they weren’t interested in an okay finish in League One, they were striving for promotion and the buzz it gave me was one of the reasons I agreed to sign.
"Even before I came down here the club had made a number of good signings and I thought it showed real intent. Conor Chaplin came in the same day I did and it was clear the club wanted to be going places.
"Since then we’ve added Bersant [Celina] and Sam [Morsy] and you don’t sign players of that calibre if you’re happy to stay in League One. Like I say, the project was a huge pull for me and I’m sure it was the same for all the new lads.
"Like the club, I am also ambitious and the aim is to get promoted to the Championship as soon as we can. But that won’t be a case of ambition achieved.
"Whatever league you are in you should want to go higher and that would obviously mean the Premier League. That’s where we want to be.”
Edmundson’s 99 league appearances at the moment — 91 starts and a further eight off the bench — have been spread across his time at Oldham, Rangers and Ipswich, including loan spells at non-league duo Alfreton and AFC Fylde, as well as Derby County, where he was on loan during the second half of last term.
He added: "I’m buzzing but to be honest I thought I’d played a few more than that. They always say 100 league games is a decent benchmark. I’m not a young kid any more so it’s good to have got that far.
"Young players are always striving to make it to 100 league games and it’s a nice landmark for me.
"Also, because it’s at Accrington I will have a few people in the crowd. My family don’t miss a game but I also have several mates who are coming along. I’ve no idea how many tickets we’ll get but it looks like I’ll need a few.”
Edmundson has so far played for three very high profile managers in ex-England stars Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney, something that few, if any, players can claim to have done.
Scholes only took charge of a handful of games at Oldham, while Gerrard has enjoyed success north of the border with Rangers and Rooney is facing up to the task of preserving Derby’s second tier status despite the club being punished with a 12-point deduction.
"It’s nuts, isn’t it?” laughed the Town defender. "I’m a lucky lad to have played for all three of them. They were all brilliant to be fair and their man-management was really good.
"It’s hardly surprising but when they joined the lads in training their quality stood out. There are levels in football and they are among the very best, the elite.
"I remember when I was out in Portugal with Rangers and we had a small-sided game with the gaffer joining in. You don’t normally get crosses in small-sided games but he put one in that I will never forget — real quality. It stands out for me because crosses are so rare in games like that. It was the best I’ve ever seen.
"They were all true legends of the game and when people like that talk to you it’s probably the case that you listen that tiny bit more because of who they are and what they achieved. I’ve definitely become a better player from having worked with every one of them.
"I remember Wayne coming on the scene when I was a youngster, the player that all the kids wanted to be like. My mates and I would go out on our local park and try to create some of his great goals — the volley against Newcastle for example — so when he wanted to sign me it was a big deal for me.
"Unfortunately, when I was at Derby there were rumours going round about the club’s financial situation and it wasn’t just the players. It was the kit men, the staff in the ticket office, everybody who worked there. I hope they can sort themselves out because there are an awful lot of good people at that club.
"I really enjoyed the few months I spent there. It was a great club to be with and everybody was dead nice, really sound. It’s a shame what’s happened there. The 12-point deduction is a massive blow but to be fair to them they keep getting results so you never know how it will work out.”
Edmundson, whose contract runs until the end of the 2024/25 season, was shocked to be informed that he had been mentioned by Rooney when he was a guest on a recent edition of the popular Tony Bellew is Angry podcast, in which the former WBC cruiserweight champion chats to a variety of sporting stars.
"I hadn’t a clue about that. What did he say?” said Edmundson, who was told that Rooney had been asked by Bellew if he could recall when he was at his angriest as a manager.
Edmundson added: "Wait, I know. I bet it was about the game at Wycombe, my debut for Derby. I remember it well because he went mad and really lost it.
"I went on just before half-time and thought I’d done alright. At full-time everybody was buzzing because we had scored a last-minute winner and we were all happy.
"But when Rooney came in he went absolutely ballistic. I was thinking ‘We’ve just won the game, what will he be like when we lose?’
"But to be fair he did come over and speak to me a bit later on and said he thought I’d done well after coming off the bench in what was a tough game.
"He was an aggressive player but he did also have a calmness about him as a manager and he was always ready to listen if you had an issue or you talked to him one to one.”
Remembering his time north of the border, where he spent two enjoyable years with Glasgow giants Rangers, he focused on his first, and so far only, experience of the Old Firm clash with bitter rivals Celtic. It was in December 2019 when he was a substitute in the 2-1 win at Parkhead.
Edmundson said: "I only came on in the last minute of the game but to be fair it’s still probably the best game I’ve ever been involved in. As soon as I went on I could feel the tension and I would recommend anyone who hasn’t been to an Old Firm game, if they get the chance they should go. It’s probably the best atmosphere in football.
"I thought it was good at Rangers and I definitely improved as a player in my time there. When you get a chance to go to a club like that you can’t pass up the opportunity.
"But although I enjoyed my time at Ibrox I reached a stage where I definitely had to be playing and I thought the time had come to move on.”
The subject of Coffee Club, a new addition to the club’s official website content in which Edmundson is the man with the mic and holds court with teammates on a variety of different topics as they enjoy a cuppa, also came up for discussion.
Asked when the next episode is likely to appear, he replied: "We mentioned it last week but because of the busy schedule we had it didn’t happen. We were meant to do episode two — it was pencilled in for the Wednesday but the gaffer gave us a day off — so it shouldn’t be long.”
How did Edmundson land the gig as presenter? "I’m not too sure,” he said. "They just handed me the mic and said ‘You’re presenting it’. I guess they just thought I was a bit of a natural! I enjoyed it and thought it was good.
"The one thing I need to do is to come out with my own line at the end to finish the show. The only one I had in my head for the first one was Jeremy Clarkson’s ‘bombshell’ but I’ve got one of my own ready when we record the second.”