Town keeper Christian Walton is relishing the challenge that Saturday’s trip to face Sheffield Wednesday presents, sounding a confident “Bring it on!” war cry ahead of the big game.
Walton is in outstanding form at the moment with five clean sheets in his last six league outings and having conceded just four goals in an unbeaten eight-game run that leaves the Blues on top of League One on goal difference from Portsmouth.
His latest outing, in last night’s richly deserved 2-0 home win over Bristol Rovers, was business as usual for the 26-year-old former Brighton man, who initially joined on loan from the Seagulls and then, with Kieran McKenna installed as manager after Paul Cook’s departure, was only too happy to make the move permanent in the January transfer window.
Walton said: "I was really pleased with both the performance and the result. A clean sheet, two goals to go with that, so a really pleasing performance, especially in the first 35 to 40 minutes until they hit the bar and then there was the shot across me.
"If we are going to get where we want to get to, scoring two or three in the first half would probably have backed up that performance, but it was just important that we got another goal in the second half to finish it off.
"We need to finish teams off when they come here looking to take something from the game and that’s what we did.
"I’m happy with my own form and not conceding goals will always be the main thing. But I also want to keep improving when I’m on the ball and in possession.
"We had a few chances when they came on to us last night and we played through them. We got a shot off after five passes and it shows what we’ve been working hard on in training.
"I’m loving that part of the game. It was one of my main reasons for signing for this manager in January. He’s an unbelievable coach and I am learning so much about the game and that side of the game.
"I’ve also got Rene [Gilmartin, goalkeeping coach] as well and he’s driving it each and every day. Wanting to play that style is really good for me and I’m really, really enjoying it.
"I genuinely feel I am getting better at that side of the game too. I’ve improved in six months with it and I want to go even further with it. We all want to improve and if we do that with small percentages it’s going to help the team in the long run.”
McKenna’s possession-based style of play means that Walton is occasionally required to take risks as opposition front men look to close him down and make it difficult for Town to play out from the back.
But he smiled: "It’s all part of it. It’s about having the confidence to do it and lure them on and then playing through them.”
Next up is the trip to Yorkshire and what looks like being Town’s biggest test so far. They follow it up with another away game, live on Sky at Plymouth, and then comes Portsmouth’s eagerly-awaited visit to Portman Road at the start of October. It means the Blues’ next three fixtures are against the teams immediately below them in the table.
Walton added: "I think we’ve just got to say ‘Bring it on’. We’ve got to win these games if we want to be the best team in the league. Obviously, the performances and results against these teams are going to play a big part in where we end up and the aim is to cement our place at the top.”
Town could hardly be in better shape ahead of the game at Hillsborough, since they have a 100 per cent away record after winning their first four games on the road for the first time in the club’s history.
"We’ve had some tough away trips — Accrington and Burton are not easy places to go and win games — but we have improved on last season when our away record wasn’t as good as we would have liked,” said Walton. "It has been really positive.”