Town skipper Sam Morsy is convinced new manager Kieran McKenna can take the club to a new level and admits he is excited to be involved alongside the former Manchester United first team coach.
Morsy has retained the captaincy since the Northern Irishman arrived at Portman Road nine games — six wins, one draw and just two defeats — ago, a run that has reinvigorated the team after a disappointing first half of the season in which the hoped-for promotion challenge under predecessor Paul Cook failed to materialise.
Asked how convinced he was that McKenna could continue what he has started and take Town to a different level, Morsy said: "I see it every day in training, in games and with the results we’ve been getting since he came in.
"We seem to be finding different ways to win games, which is really important, and I just think it’s about gradual improvement over the past couple of months since he’s been here.
"As players we have to continue to buy into what he wants because when you hear him speak he is very, very ambitious and if you don’t get on board with it you’re going to be left behind.
"Whether it’s the captain, the best player, the worst player or whatever it is, there’s an opportunity to be a part of something here.
"If anyone doesn’t want to be part of it they will be left behind because I think he sees it as a project that he wants to complete.
"You look at the way he has affected things in a very short space of just a few weeks, like the feeling among the fans and the way they are supporting us in ever greater numbers, like at MK Dons last week.
"I think the fans are starting to see us a team they really like. There’s no doubt about it, we’re not there yet — in fact we’re still some way off — but if we keep getting better and we keep winning games we’re going to slowly close that gap between us and the play-offs.”
Asked how much he is enjoying his football under McKenna, who at 35 is just five years older than the Egyptian international, Morsy answered: "I’m really enjoying it and I feel as if I’m improving and learning.
"All players want different things, if I’m honest, but if there’s one thing that everyone can share it’s progressing — not just in football but life itself.
"If you can see a path to improving it’s a big motivational factor. I get on well with him, both professionally and personally, and he’s helping me with my game, while the team is doing really well. The way I feel right now is that he can help me to take my game to another level.
"I’m lucky in that my mentality is still that of a young player. I know there are areas in which I can improve and I know what they are, while I’m enthusiastic and keen to improve. He’s worked at the highest level and with some of the best players out there, so he’s the perfect person for that role and he knows I’m receptive to it.
"Once you’ve got that combination it’s a lot easier to do, rather than if you’re someone who is just happy to be at a certain level and happy to have done what you’ve done. I feel an improvement in myself and hopefully I can continue getting better.”
Morsy explained how his role within the side has changed since McKenna replaced Cook. "We talk regularly about the tactical side of things,” said the midfielder. "We do a lot of things in training and we also have a lot of conversations about how I can get better and the things he sees in me and my game.
"It’s really interesting and I feel lucky that I’m a part of it. I don’t think you want someone coming in and telling you ‘Just keep doing what you’ve been doing’. He wants me to be more advanced, where I can affect the game more, and it’s not too dissimilar to the role I played last season for Neil Warnock at Middlesbrough.
"He wants me to look at different things, different patterns and how I can affect the game in different places, so it’s all very interesting and very impactful. I’m just trying to take it all on board and trying to deliver what he wants.”
While the end-of-season Town target is a top-six finish, Morsy has a personal aim — to break his scoring duck and claim his first goal for the club. He added: "I think it will come. I’ve never been a selfish player looking to take every opportunity to shoot but I’m looking to get at least a couple before the end of the season — that’s the plan.
"It’s definitely exciting to be a part of what’s happening at the club at the moment. The manager and the staff are really good, the players are working really hard and we’re improving weekly, so it’s paid off.”
Morsy was asked about the importance of the manager-captain relationship and responded: "I would say it’s massively important. I’ve been lucky in my career in having a really good relationship with all my managers, including Paul Cook for a good number of years and on three separate occasions. It was the same with Neil Warnock at Middlesbrough.
"As captain I’m the main link between the manager and the players. The gaffer is very clear about what he wants and I have to try to be his eyes on the pitch. It’s educational and informative as I try to get across all the messages that he has for people and the team in general.
"Every manager, young or old, is different really and you only have to look at Chris Wilder going into my former club, Middlesbrough. You could say he’s one of the older managers but what a fantastic job he is doing.
"They all have a different approach and their own way of doing things but all the lads here are enjoying working under the manager we have. I’m really enjoying it and long may it continue.”
Would he like to eventually become a manager? He said: "I’d like to stay in the game when my playing career is over. I’m really passionate about the game and I’m lucky that I don’t drink and have quite a good, healthy lifestyle.
"I don’t even feel like I’m at my prime yet — but approaching it — and I just want to enjoy playing, keep getting better and see where it takes me.”