George Edmundson believes Town’s defeat at Sunderland on Saturday will help to galvanise him and his colleagues for tomorrow’s home clash against high-flying Rotherham United.
The second-placed Millers visit Portman Road after making their best start to a season in almost 70 years and looking to extend League One’s best away record — just one defeat and three goals conceded in their seven games on the road during the current campaign.
Town will be eager to bounce back after losing at the Stadium of Light to two late goals, having dominated possession throughout and landed more efforts on target than the Black Cats.
"Losing up there was hard to take,” confirmed central defender Edmundson, who arrived from Rangers at the end of the summer transfer window.
"Obviously, it would have been nice to win on the weekend but because we lost this is now a game that we’ve got to go and win.
"I thought the result at Sunderland was a bit harsh and the referee didn’t help. This is a big game and it’s the reason we play football, to win these big games. Everybody is looking forward to it and hopefully we will get the three points.”
Edmundson knows what to expect from the Millers, who have switched between League One and the Championship in recent years, and are averaging two points per league game, always a positive barometer of a side’s promotion hopes.
He added: "We knew before the season had even started that Rotherham would be up there — it seems they always are — but we’re looking forward to the challenge. We’ve done it before against Wycombe and Portsmouth so it will be a good test for us.
"We know exactly what type of game it is going to be. We’ve already spoken about it and everybody knows what sort of team Rotherham are.
"They’re a good team but they’re also very good at the other side of the game, being a bit more direct and winning second balls, and we’ve got to make sure we are up for the fight.
"We do loads of work on analysis of the opposition. We have meetings and we see a lot of video clips on specific plays and individual players, plus we work on formations and how we expect them to play. We go through it all and we always do our homework for every game.”
Rotherham were without suspended top scorer Michael Smith for Saturday’s 3-1 home win over Cambridge United but if, as expected, he returns to manager Paul Warne’s starting line-up Edmundson knows he will have his hands full trying to make sure he doesn’t add to his 12 league goals this term.
The 24-year-old continued: "If I want to look at, say, Smith of Rotherham I can go to an analyst and have a look, while I can also speak to the gaffer or one or more of the coaches and we’ll go through the clips.
"I could do that about any opposition player at any club just to get an idea. How they play, right or left-footed, how good are they in the air, what they do in certain positions, whether he comes short, that sort of thing. We go through everything and we don’t leave a page unturned.”
Edmundson has impressed recently and in his 15 league and cup appearances this season he has only ended up on the losing side on four occasions.
"One of his clear strengths is that he enjoys no-frills defending but at Sunderland he achieved a rare feat when he nutmegged opposing striker Ross Stewart.
He added: "I like both sides of the defensive role but first and foremost I’m a defender, and I think that’s something that has gone out of the game a bit.
"I love to play football and we all love to play pretty patterns but at the end of the day I’m there to stop the ball going in the back of our net and that’s the most important part of the job. If you can play on top of that it’s an added bonus.
"Like I say, I’m there to defend first and foremost, but little things occur from time to time and everybody enjoys them.
"I don’t get many nutmegs in games and I can’t deny I enjoyed that moment. When it comes off it feels good, boosts your confidence and adds to the enjoyment of playing football for a living. I never stop thinking about how fortunate I am to have the job that I do.”