Man-of-the-match Sone Aluko says he revels in the business end of the season, enjoying having the pressure on and something to chase.
Aluko was the star man as the Blues beat Lincoln City 2-0 at Portman Road last night to move three points from the play-offs with nine games left on their fixture list, although with teams around them having matches in hand.
"I thought we played pretty well and were strong and it’s always good to get two goals in the first half,” the 33-year-old reflected.
"Teams will come here and defend their 18-yard box well and then it’s maybe uncomfortable sometimes, so to get the two early goals was good and we saw the game out pretty well, and they’re a good team, so I’m very happy with a 2-0 win.”
Town got off to a positive start, never allowing the Imps a foothold in the match in the early stages.
"It definitely helps at home with our fanbase as well, if we score early they really make some noise and teams can struggle to overcome that,” he continued.
"It was a big result for us. A clean sheet is always massive as well, so we’re going into the next game with a lot of confidence.”
Wes Burns took his total for the season to 11 and in the first half the Welshman gave the Imps’ defence a torrid time, creating Town’s second having scored the first.
"He’s such an outlet for us, he’s got a knack of popping up at the right time and getting a goal, I think that’s his 11th of the season,” Aluko continued.
"He actually played quite high today, we tried to keep him high up the pitch. That worked well and Jacko [Kayden Jackson] deserved his goal.
"He’s been great in training, has been great in the last few games, so he’s really making a name for himself up there and staking his claim for a place in the team.”
Was it a pass from skipper Sam Morsy for the second goal or a shot which didn’t come off?
"I’m not going to embarrass him,” Aluko laughed. "It was a great pass, it was a great assist, but, yes, he struggles!”
Regarding his own performance, which led to a standing ovation when he was substituted in the second half, the Hounslow-born forward added: "The fans have been fantastic with me since I came, to be honest. They have been very warm and seem to enjoy the performances, so I’m humble out there, work hard, try and create things, try and win the ball back.
"I was happy with my performance today and happy with the team performance, to be honest, I thought we were very good in large parts of the game.”
In his post-match press conference, manager McKenna said Aluko has "been fantastic since I arrived, but especially over the last few weeks, he seems to be going through the gears a little bit”.
Quizzed on whether he feels he has stepped his game up further in recent weeks, Aluko said: "Not really, but it’s the business end of the season, this is the part of the season I really enjoy, when the pressure’s on and you have to get the points and we’re chasing something.
"I don’t like being in a team where in the last nine or 10 games you’re not going to get relegated, you’re not getting promoted so there’s nothing to play for. I’m pushing the team.
"We can do it and that motivates me, that keeps us sharp in training, it’s something to chase down. Maybe that’s it.”
McKenna described Aluko, who joined Town in the summer after leaving Reading, as one of the leaders in the group following last night's game, does he see himself that way? "It’s a responsibility I have to shoulder. It’s natural, I’m the oldest in the team, I’ve had a good career, so I’ve had promotions, I’ve been relegated, so I’ve seen a lot.
"The average age of the team is pretty young so that helps me just stay pretty steady through the season.
"When things are going bad it’s easy to think ‘We’re not going to make it’ and when we’re on a run like this now, you have to stay humble and work really hard. I try and do that in the way I train, in the way I play and hopefully the lads follow.”
The only negative for the Blues on Tuesday evening were the injuries in the second half suffered by Morsy and George Edmundson, with the latter seeming set to miss Saturday’s game at home to Portsmouth having turned his ankle.
"We’ll see how bad it is. I’m not sure yet how serious they are, Sam didn’t think it was too serious, George I haven’t spoke to, so I’m not sure, hopefully we’ll get everyone back,” Aluko reflected.
"But that’s why we’ve got a big squad. Cam [Burgess] came in and he trains well. He slotted in well and we’ll use our depth, that’s part of the benefit we have at this club of having such top players, we have a lot of them here.”
Burgess replaced Edmundson in the 61st minute, the Australian U23 international’s first appearance since Kieran McKenna came in as manager.
Asked how Burgess, who joined the Blues in the summer from Accrington Stanley, had kept himself up to speed during that time, Aluko said: "You have to know the game. In football things change so quickly and if you’re not ready, someone else will take your chance and you might wait another month or the season will be done before you get your chance.
"So you have to always be ready. He trains really well. The squad does. We’ve so much quality that you have to be on it all the time, you have to have the intensity up because the manager, especially with the attackers, he rotates the team as well.
"Cam is suddenly in the team, might be playing the next game if George doesn’t get back, so I’m sure he’ll take his chance.”
The back three of Edmundson, Luke Woolfenden and Janoi Donacien has been a key element of the Blues’s success under McKenna having started all 14 of his matches plus the final game of John McGreal’s stint as interim manager.
Town have kept 10 clean sheets in that time, seven in the last eight matches, which Aluko says is down to the team in its entirety not just the backline.
"I think it’s the whole system,” he said. "We press well from the front, we have good intensity at the front. We win the ball back quite high up a lot of the time, so that helps the defence and when they’re asked to defend they do a good job. Christian [Walton] as well makes his save [from Anthony Scully towards the end of last night’s game].
"The standard of training’s high, the intensity’s high, so that helps and it shows in the games.”
What does he see as the squad’s biggest strength? "I think we’re a very humble team. We work really hard in training, intensity’s always there. We have a lot of belief. I think those two things help, there’s no doubt in how much quality we have in the team.
"But a lot of teams have that and don’t get the results we’re getting, so we have a lot of belief in what we’re doing and we work really hard, the intensity’s there, the numbers show how much we run and how hard we sprint. Those are the two key things really.”
While Town stayed ninth, where they’ve been for some weeks, following the victory over the Imps they are only three points from the play-offs.
Among fans, confidence is growing that the Blues, who are unbeaten in eight, can make the top six but Aluko said recently that within the dressing room there had never been any doubt that they could get themselves among the challengers.
"Not from my side, for sure!” he said. "Whilst it’s possible, I’ll always chase it down. I have a lot of belief in this team, in the squad and you see once it clicks, we’re unbeaten in a long run, so momentum’s on our side.
"We’ve got a big game Saturday and Portsmouth will be a big challenge, it’ll be another game I’ll enjoy and I’m looking forward to the challenge, looking forward to chasing other teams down.”
Town beat Pompey 4-0 at Fratton Park in one of the best nights of Paul Cook’s management in October. Does he believe that will have any impact on Saturday’s match?
"They’re in good form, I’m sure they’ll be out for revenge,” the Nigeria international continued.
"I’m sure they’re watching our games, they’ll see that it’s a different team, a different style to what it was back then, but we still pack a punch, have still got a lot of quality going forward and we’re keeping clean sheets.
"They’re going to have to bring their best and we’ll bring out best, and may the best team win.”