Goalkeeper Christian Walton wants Town to use the Boxing Day home clash with in-form Oxford United to bounce back from last weekend’s 1-0 loss at Wycombe Wanderers, only their third league defeat in the current campaign.
Walton has been ever-present in League One for the Blues this season and remembers how well they recovered from previous defeats at Plymouth Argyle and at home to Lincoln City by beating Portsmouth and Derby County respectively next time out.
The 27-year-old Cornishman, who has represented England at U19, U20 and U21 international levels, said: "The Oxford game is another big opportunity for us and there will be another big crowd at Portman Road, which is outstanding to see.
"There’s no doubt we will be looking to put on a performance like those that saw us take maximum points from both Portsmouth and Derby.”
Asked if it was easier to accept defeat when the team’s performance was still good, Walton added: "Yes, I think so. I don’t think we’ve played poorly in any of the three defeats we have had in the league this season to be honest.
"The Plymouth one, the game against Lincoln when we had 30 shots on goal or whatever it was and again on Saturday when we dominated the possession.
"I know that doesn’t necessarily win you games but I think we’ve played well. There are times when you come away wondering how you didn’t get a win or at least picked up something from the game, but that’s football.”
Reflecting on the most recent setback at Adams Park, which saw them surrender top place in the league to former leaders Plymouth, Walton said: "I thought we pretty much did everything right, everything that we had worked on and everything that we were asked to do on the day, I thought we did well and executed it well.
"The only thing, of course, was not scoring at least one goal — or two to win the game — and that was obviously disappointing. We wanted to take more from a game that we dominated for large periods.
"We were focused and didn’t give them very much at all but to be fair to the lad who scored for them he did well to get through. We were disappointed with that aspect of things.”
Walton and his colleagues will be in for training on Christmas Day to make their final preparations to face Karl Robinson’s men, who are unbeaten in 10 games in all competitions, eight in the league thanks to two wins and six draws, the most recent of which came at third-placed Sheffield Wednesday last week when experienced midfielder James Henry missed a late penalty.
The ex-Plymouth and Brighton man continued: "I enjoy Christmas as much as anyone and I definitely enjoyed it as a fan when I was younger. I remember how I always used to look forward to going to the game on Boxing Day. It was one of the highlights of every season and I think it’s still the same for the supporters.
"As a professional footballer I am used to training on Christmas Day. All the lads are the same and it’s all about making sure we are ready because there are a lot of games in such a short time at this time of the year. We just have to focus on Boxing Day first and then the rest will take care of themselves really.
"The festive period can be important for any club because it gives you the opportunity to pick up points in a short period of time.
"Easter is similar because the games are crammed in but I think the Christmas period can set you up well for January and because you’re past the half-way stage of the season you are well aware that the number of games is going down.
"If we can have a good period over Christmas it could set us up nicely for the New Year and the coming months.
"Maybe the training on Christmas Day feels a bit different to the rest of the time and if you have children I guess you’ll know more about that. But once you come into the training ground it’s just like any other day.
"We’ll be training and doing our normal stuff; the fact that it’s Christmas Day won’t affect it in any way. Plus, we get home for the rest of Christmas Day, same as we do any other day as well.”
Asked if the squad were under strict instructions not to overdo the Christmas dinner, Walton added: "Yes, but I think it’s down to the individuals to take responsibility for that and look after themselves. I don’t think any of the lads will be going overboard.”