Town striker Freddie Ladapo admits he is excited by the prospect of facing two former clubs, Rotherham and Plymouth, in the next eight days.
First up it’s the Millers at Portman Road tomorrow with a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup the prize for victory and seven days later the Pilgrims, current League One leaders, will be the visitors with precious points up for grabs in what is developing into an enthralling promotion race.
It was after a fruitless few months at Southend that Ladapo moved to South Yorkshire in July 2018 following one season in Devon in which he netted 19 goals in all competition, all but one of which were scored in league games.
Rotherham handed over a fee of £500,000 and he gave them three years’ service that comprised 41 goals, 34 of them coming in his 121 league appearances, 78 of which were as a member of the starting line-up.
Having averaged 15 goals in each of his last four seasons, therefore, Ladapo is happy with his record since joining Town as a free agent last summer. He has netted 10 goals in total, including seven in League One, from 29 outings in all competitions.
Ladapo, 29, who was born in Romford and whose career was launched in Essex with spells at both Southend and Colchester, addressed tomorrow’s FA Cup-tie and said: "I was surprised when the draw was made and excited as well. I can imagine the Town fans were looking for Manchester United away or similar — something a bit more exciting — but for me it’s exciting to be facing my former club.
"I was there for quite a long time and I had a good level of success there but I haven’t been there in six months and a lot has changed since I left.
"But I’m looking forward to it. I had a successful time there, including a couple of promotions to the Championship and an EFL Trophy win as well.
"Okay, relegation from the Championship back to League One was an obvious negative but, overall, it was an exciting time.”
Asked if he was still in contact with his former colleagues at the New York Stadium, he replied: "Yes, there have been a lot of texts. I’m still very, very friendly with a lot of the players there and some of them attended my daughter’s christening. I’m still close to some of the boys there.
"But there have been some big changes as well. Paul Warne, who was really Mr Rotherham, the main man there after all his years of service as a player and coach before he became manager, has moved on. He had been there for a long time.
"But we played his new club, Derby, earlier in the season and I saw him then so I’m well aware he’s not at Rotherham any more. It will be different, of course, but I’ve got over the shock of him not being at Rotherham any longer.”
The big question is whether Town can KO a Championship side, albeit one sitting just one place and point above the drop zone and one that has managed just one win in their 12 most recent league fixtures. "I am confident we can give them a game, very much so,” said Ladapo.
"We have been playing some good stuff and that was one of the main reasons I came here last summer; I wanted to play exciting football and hopefully get another promotion on my CV. What we’ve done so far this season has been very positive and you can see we have 50 points from 25 league games with a lot still to play for.
"If we can win it will be very exciting for the club and the players because it would potentially give us a chance to play against Premier League opposition, or even a top Championship side.
"The more games we play in the FA Cup, the better, and every time we advance, the more the chances improve of us coming up against a really top side. We are keen to test ourselves against the best to see how far we have come and how far we still have to go. It’s a game I am desperately keen to play in.”
Ladapo admitted talk of Town adding attacking reinforcements during the January transfer window — Everton’s Nathan Broadhead and George Hirst of Leicester, currently on loan at Blackburn, are both targets — is extra motivation for him to hold on to his first-team place.
He said: "For a player it’s always nerve-racking. It’s a time when someone could come in and take your spot, but with a squad like ours you are always going to have competition for places and teams are always looking to improve. If I support Spurs, for instance, I want someone to come in and improve the team.
"I’m sure the fans and the manager are looking for players to come in and improve the team. They are going to do their best to get us to where we want to get to.
"I think for a player like me it’s just about staying focused on whatever I bring to the team and to be confident in myself, because that’s the only thing I can do to be honest.
"It’s definitely extra motivation for the Rotherham and Plymouth games. The motivation for them is already high enough because I’m playing against two of my previous clubs, so I’ll have all the motivation for that.”